Palestinian human rights sources have revealed a sharp rise in the number of female prisoners held in Israeli prisons, reaching 66. The Palestinian Prisoners Club explained that 10 additional women, including a child, were arrested in recent days, reflecting an escalating and systematic campaign of persecution against Palestinian women.
Official data indicates that among those detained are three girls facing harsh conditions behind bars, while the charges against most of the female prisoners revolve around so-called "incitement" via social media platforms. These arrests come within the context of a broader campaign that has targeted more than 680 women since the start of the genocidal war in the Gaza Strip.
The female prisoners are distributed among several detention centers, but the majority are held in Damon Prison in northern occupied Palestine, while others are subjected to harsh interrogation in various security facilities. Sources confirmed that these figures do not include dozens of women arrested in the Gaza Strip who remain forcibly disappeared without official registration.
The female prisoners in Damon Prison face appalling detention conditions, subjected to systematic deprivation of their most basic human rights. These violations include deliberate starvation, repeated physical assaults, and being prevented from contacting their families or seeing their children due to a ban on family visits.
In shocking testimonies, the statement indicated that female prisoners were subjected to humiliating strip searches, which are considered one of the most prominent forms of sexual and psychological abuse perpetrated by prison guards. The female prisoners also suffer from deliberate medical neglect and denial of necessary treatment, endangering the lives of those who are ill and exacerbating their daily suffering.
On a broader statistical level, the number of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails currently exceeds 9,300, including approximately 350 children living under similar conditions of abuse. These figures come amidst an unprecedented Israeli escalation in the West Bank, encompassing killings, forced displacement, and settlement expansion aimed at imposing a new reality.
On the ground, medical sources reported that two children and a woman were wounded by Israeli occupation forces in the Al-Maslakh area, south of Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip. The wounded were transferred to Nasser Medical Complex for treatment, where their injuries were described as moderate, following heavy gunfire by military vehicles toward tents belonging to displaced people in the area.
Despite the ceasefire agreement in place since last October, Israeli violations have continued. Israeli warplanes launched airstrikes east of Khan Younis, while artillery shelling targeted Rafah and Jabalia. These attacks persist as the death toll from the 2023 offensive has surpassed 72,000, with widespread destruction affecting 90% of the country's infrastructure.
Observers believe that the intensified arrests in the West Bank, which have affected more than 22,000 Palestinians, aim to break the popular will and pave the way for the formal annexation of the West Bank. These policies coincide with the ongoing humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, where displaced people face the risk of death from Israeli fire even in areas supposedly outside the scope of military operations.
