Israeli forces detained more than 2,000 Palestinian children since 2023

RAMALLAH, Palestine (MNTV) — Israeli forces have detained more than 2,000 Palestinian children since October 2023, according to the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society, which has raised concerns over harsh prison conditions, alleged abuse and the continued detention of minors.

According to an Al Jazeera report, the Palestinian rights organization said Israeli authorities continued targeting Palestinian children, with at least 350 currently facing what it described as harsh conditions in Israeli prisons. 

The organization warned that detention practices were inflicting serious harm on children already living amid prolonged violence and occupation.

The report said Israeli forces detained at least six children in Hebron, in the occupied West Bank, on Tuesday. 

The organization added that the full number of children detained from Gaza remained unclear because thousands of people, including children, were missing and families continued facing uncertainty over the fate of their relatives.

The organization also condemned detention without charges or a specified release date, arguing that such practices deprive children of family contact, educational stability and the ability to know when they might regain their freedom.

It characterized the practice as a further violation of children’s rights.

The report described Israeli mistreatment beginning with intimidation and arrest and extending to torture, starvation and denial of medical care. 

These allegations add to longstanding concerns raised by Palestinian organizations and rights advocates over the treatment of Palestinians held in Israeli detention facilities.

One case highlighted was that of Mohammed Hamid, a 15-year-old Palestinian who reportedly contracted scabies while detained at Ofer Prison. 

According to the report, he subsequently suffered severe infections, underwent heart surgery and was admitted to intensive care in critical condition. One of his legs was later amputated.

The organization also cited the death of 17-year-old Walid Ahmed, who died in March 2025 after spending six months in Megiddo Prison. 

An Israeli judge halted an investigation into his death in December, stating that evidence of starvation existed but that a definitive cause of death had not been established.

Ahmed had been imprisoned alongside Mohammed Ibrahim, an American teenager from Florida. 

Ibrahim was released following months of advocacy by US-based organizations and appeals from senior lawmakers, illustrating the role external pressure can play in securing the release of detained minors.

Another American teenager, Abdalkareem Issa Ahmed Safi, was reportedly detained during a late-night raid on his home in the occupied West Bank in June. 

He turned 18 while in custody and was subsequently transferred from a youth holding area to an adult section at Ofer Prison.

The cases have intensified scrutiny of Israel’s treatment of Palestinian minors and the conditions in which they are held. 

The Palestinian Prisoner’s Society has called attention to the consequences of prolonged detention, alleged physical abuse and inadequate healthcare, particularly for children whose education and family lives have already been disrupted by conflict.

The reported figures also leave unresolved questions about children detained in Gaza, where widespread destruction, missing-person cases and restrictions on information complicate efforts to establish the full scale of detention. 

Palestinian rights advocates argue that transparent records, legal safeguards and independent scrutiny in Israeli system are essential to protecting children from arbitrary detention and abuse.