Israel released nearly 2,000 Palestinians from its custody this month in exchange for 30 Israelis held by Hamas, as part of the US-blonded metfire in Gaza.
Israel released nearly 2,000 Palestinians from its custody this month in exchange for 30 Israelis held by Hamas, as part of the US-blonded metfire in Gaza. Hamas said 154 of the 250 prisoners found guilty were deported to Egypt.
About 1,700 of the remaining prisoners were arrested by the military during the war and were sentenced outside the courts.
The number of Palestinians in Israeli prisons
After the agreement, the number of Palestinians in prisons and detention centers in Israel stands at more than 9,100.
There is an additional undisclosed number of Gaza prisoners held in military detention camps, such as SDE Teiman in the Nev Desert and Naftali camp in northern Israel. Israel does not reveal more details about its numbers, whereabouts, and future, according to Palestinian human rights groups.
Palestinian soldiers holding guns as mature vehicle traffic certificates, held on October 7, 2023, after part of the formation of AMASH, October 13, 2025. (Credit: Stetters / Strever)
Of the 9,100, 3,544 are administrative detainees, held without trial, according to a source from Palestinian prisoners and reports by Palestinian rights groups.
Another 77 have died in Israeli prisons since the war began, a report by Palestinian news groups, including the Prisoners and Detainees Commission, an official body affiliated with Palestine, said.
Before Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack and the start of the war in Gaza, the number of Palestinian prisoners was 5,250, of which 1,320 were to be arrested, according to reports from Palestinian rights groups.
Israel’s prison service has said it does not share data and that it is not responsible for arrests and legal proceedings. The Judiciary and the Defense Service did not respond to current requests.
The charges were handed to the Palestinians
Indictments against 250 prisoners who have been released or convicted of kidnapping for murder, involvement in shootings or assaults with heavy weapons, according to a list published by the Ministry of Justice.
Of these 9,100, approximately 1,200 were found guilty, and 3,544 were imprisoned. Tally Tally also included 400 children and 52 women, according to a source and a public report of Palestinian prisoners.
Other cases, often filed against people including doctors and teachers – some who participate in protests against Israel or who gather with them, by meeting with groups throwing groups shared by Palestinian rights groups.
The Palestinians consider our brothers who were sentenced by Israel as heroes in the struggle against the attacks on Israel. Israel considers those found guilty of violence against its citizens to be terrorists.
Administrative arrest
As part of Israel’s emergency powers laws, authorities can detain prisoners deemed a security threat without trial, a practice that has drawn concern in other countries and has been repeatedly challenged by human rights groups in Israeli courts.
This practice is often used against Palestinians, but it has been used against Jewish Israelis who are accused of attacking Palestinians, as well.
Such prisoners are sometimes held without trial for months, Israel said, to prevent further violence if there is not enough evidence to prosecute, or when you go to court you will have to hand over the identity of secret documents.
Intentions, as a rule, must be disclosed to the court where the arrest order is being considered. The court may accept evidence without revealing it to the accused if it believes that disclosure would endanger safety.
The six-month detention period can be extended indefinitely if officials still have reason to believe the detainees pose a security threat, sometimes leaving Palestinian prisoners in jail for years without charge.
The motions must be brought before the court within eight days to confirm or reject the arrest order which can be passed later. Jurors are allowed to accept evidence without the presence of detainees.
Law of Unlawful Combat
Palestinians from Gaza are held in Israel under the detention of illegal figures, which allow unlimited detention of people believed to have participated directly or indirectly in hostile ways against hostile actions against Israel.
There were about 2,673 in Gaza under this law before the latest agreement, according to Palestinian rights groups, excluding those held in military detention camps. Of that number, 1,700 were released under the latest agreement.
Their detention has sometimes been extended by a judge, but without convictions or formal charges, according to information from prisoner organizations in Gaza and the West Bank.
The IDF said that any initial arrest where the evidence was not immediately incriminating, such as a video of the murder, was carried out in accordance with the anti-combat law.
When irrefutable evidence was found, the arrest was compounded, the crime was added.
