News - Middle East: An elderly Palestinian abducted from Gaza has died in Israeli custody, bringing to 80 the number of Palestinians killed behind bars since Israel’s genocidal war began against the besieged territory in October 2023.

The Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society (PPS) announced in a statement that 69-year-old Kamil Mohammad Mahmoud al-Ajrami died at Israel’s Soroka Hospital on October 10, after being transferred from Naqab Prison, where he was held in harsh conditions.

Israeli forces had abducted al-Ajrami, a father of six, on October 25, 2024.

The two Palestinian prisoners’ rights groups described the current period as the “bloodiest” since 1967, as the total number of documented cases of Palestinian abductees who died in Israeli custody has reached 317.

They also revealed that Israel continues to withhold the bodies of 88 prisoners, including 77 detainees taken since the start of the Gaza genocide, denying families the right to mourn and bury their loved ones.

Mahmoud Talal Abdullah, a 49-year-old Palestinian abductee from Jenin refugee camp who had been held behind bars since February 1, also died recently in an Israeli prison after suffering from untreated medical complications.

Before his abduction earlier this year, he was undergoing treatment for existing health conditions, but his abduction prevented him from continuing his medical care.

Azmi Nader Abu Hleil, a Palestinian held in Israel’s Ofer prison since December last year, is suffering from “severe health complications after contracting scabies … without receiving the necessary medical treatment for more than six months,” WAFA news agency reported, citing PPS.

In a statement, the PPS said Abu Hleil’s condition “has deteriorated critically, as abscesses have spread across his body, accompanied by visible cracks and sores.”

According to Addameer, the Palestinian Center for Prisoners’ Studies, at least 10,400 Palestinians are currently held illegally in Israeli prisons, including 3,300 administrative abductees held without charge or trial. The abductees include 320 children and 88 women.

The circumstances surrounding the detention of Palestinian inmates by Israel are unacceptable and characterized by inadequate hygiene standards. Moreover, Palestinian detainees have endured persistent torture, harassment, and oppression.

Palestinian detainees have consistently participated in indefinite hunger strikes to express their frustration over their unjust imprisonment.

Human rights organizations warn that Israel continues to violate the rights and freedoms granted to abductees as stipulated by the Fourth Geneva Convention and international laws.

According to the Palestine Detainees Studies Center, around 60 percent of Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons suffer from chronic illnesses, with many having passed away either during their incarceration or after their release due to the seriousness of their health issues.

Source:Press TV