On International Day of Victims of Enforced Disappearances, the occupation legitimizes torture and detention of Palestinians in secret camps

On the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, the Prisoners’ Media Office highlighted the severe violations carried out by Israeli occupation authorities against detainees from the Gaza Strip, saying the crime of enforced disappearance continues and serves as a cover for systematic torture that has led to the deaths of dozens of detainees.

The office said the authorities have legitimized these practices through the “unlawful combatant” law issued in 2002, which was amended at the start of the war on Gaza, allowing extended periods of detention without trial and long-term denial of access to lawyers. Authorities have also refused to disclose information about the numbers of detainees and their places of detention, making it harder to obtain accurate data on their conditions.

Rights reports said the Israeli authorities established special camps to hold Gaza detainees, such as “Sde Teyman”, “Anatot” and “Ofer”, and documented incidents of torture from the moment of arrest through transfer to these camps, resulting in dozens of deaths.

By August 2025, the number of detainees classified as “unlawful combatants” had reached 2,378. The identities of 46 of the 77 detainees who died have been identified, and the number of detainees doubled over the course of a year, excluding those held in military camps.

The Prisoners’ Media Office called on the international community to assume its legal and moral responsibilities, to pressure the occupation authorities to stop these violations, and to guarantee legal and humanitarian protection for Palestinian detainees in the occupation’s prisons and camps.