Motaz Abu Zanid, a 35-year-old Palestinian detainee, passed away due to medical negligence in Israeli custody.
A Palestinian detainee has died in Ramon Prison, southern Israel, prisoner groups announced on Monday.
The deceased was identified as Motaz Abu Zanid, 35, the Commission of Detainees’ Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoner Society, said in a joint statement, citing the Palestinian Civil Affairs Authority, which liaises with Israeli authorities.
According to the statement, Abu Zanid was from the town of Dura, south of Hebron in the southern West Bank. He was under administrative detention without charge, and died at the Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba in southern Israel, the Anadolu news agency reported.
The statement accused Israeli authorities of committing a “new crime” in the prisons, noting that Abu Zanid was detained on June 27, 2023, and “had no prior health issues before his arrest.”
Critical Condition
Witness testimonies indicated that Abu Zanid’s health suddenly and critically deteriorated.
“The prison administration deliberately delayed transferring him to the hospital and subjected him to systematic medical negligence until he fell into a coma and was transferred to Soroka Hospital on Jan. 6,” the statement added.
⭕ Zionist terrorists have announced the martyrdom of captive Moataz Mahmoud Abu Zneid (35) from Dura, Al-Khalil, at Soroka Hospital.
Held since June 27, 2023, under the vile pretense of administrative detention without trial and charge, he had no prior health issues. / pic.twitter.com/kM3hSP5TbX
— Palestine Captives 𓂆 (@Palestinecapti1) January 13, 2025
With the death of Abu Zanid, the fifth administrative detainee to die in Israeli prisons since the beginning of the genocide in Gaza in October 2023, the total number of identified deaths among prisoners and detainees rose to 55, according to the statement.
It noted that this figure marks “the highest in history during the bloodiest phase of the prisoners’ movement since 1967.”
The total number of Palestinian detainees in Israeli prisons is estimated at around 10,400, according to data from the Commission of Detainees’ Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoner Society.
Among the prisoners are 89 female prisoners, no less than 345 children, and 3428 administrative detainees, according to the official Palestinian news agency, WAFA.
Underground Prison
Last week Israeli media reported that Israel has opened an underground prison for detainees from Hamas and Hezbollah where they are denied access to sunlight.
Describing the conditions in the underground prison as harsh, KAN said detainees there are shackled and confined to their cells for 23 hours a day.
‘Sunlight Can’t Reach It’ – Israel Holds Detainees in Underground Prison
“They are allowed only one brief opportunity per day to step into a small, enclosed yard,” it added. “Even this small yard is completely closed and the sunlight can’t reach it, and detainees are allowed to go out into it once a day.”
The underground facility was reopened after it was shut down in the 1970s when it housed some of Israel’s most dangerous criminals, the report added.
Ongoing Genocide
The ongoing Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip, which began on October 7, 2023, has led to a humanitarian crisis of unprecedented scale. As the death toll among besieged and starved Palestinian civilians continues to rise daily, Israel is currently facing charges of genocide against Palestinians before the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, at least 46,584 Palestinians have been killed, and 109,731 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7, 2023.
GAZA HEALTH MINISTRY: 46,584 Palestinians have been killed, and 109,731 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7, 2023. pic.twitter.com/vISnaQlcSA
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) January 13, 2025
The toll is expected to rise further, with at least 11,000 people still unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes across Gaza.
The war, which Palestinians call “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood,” began after a military operation carried out by Hamas on Israeli territory. Israel reports that 1,139 of its soldiers and civilians were killed during the initial attack on October 7. However, Israeli media have raised concerns that a significant number of Israeli casualties were caused by ‘friendly fire’ during the assault.
Millions Displaced
Human rights organizations, both Palestinian and international, have reported that the overwhelming majority of the casualties in Gaza are women and children. The ongoing violence has also exacerbated an acute famine, with thousands of children among the dead, highlighting the severity of the humanitarian disaster.
Gaza Death Toll Reaches 46,565, 70 Children Killed in the Last 5 Days Alone
The war has displaced nearly two million people from their homes across Gaza, with the majority of the displaced forced into the already overcrowded southern region of the Strip. The population in Gaza remains trapped in the ongoing conflict, with little access to basic necessities such as food, water, and medical care.
(PC, Anadolu)
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