Teen dies in Israeli prison as Palestinian death toll in custody rises

A 17-year-old Palestinian boy from the West Bank town of Silwad has died inside Israel’s notorious Megiddo Prison, the Palestinian Prisoners and Detainees’ Affairs Commission has confirmed.

Israeli officials informed the commission of Walid Khaled Abdullah Ahmed’s death but gave no explanation for how or why he died. The teenager had been imprisoned since 30 September 2024.

Megiddo Prison has long been known for its brutal treatment of Palestinian detainees.

According to Haaretz, prisoners there have been subjected to electric shocks, dog attacks, and severe beatings. Some were stripped naked, bound hand and foot for days, and denied food and blankets, with several hospitalised due to the abuse.

A 2024 report by the Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs further detailed the horrors inside Megiddo, documenting systematic torture, medical neglect, sexual violence, and routine beatings.

His death raises the number of Palestinian detainees who have died in Israeli custody since October 2023 to 63—a grim statistic that continues to grow as rights groups warn of worsening conditions inside Israeli prisons.