The Gilboa prison in northern Israel. (Credit: Jalaa Marey/AFP)
Classified data, cited by the Guardian on Thursday, shows that only one in four detainees from Gaza are identified as fighters by Israel’s military intelligence, while the majority are civilians held without charge or trial.
Those detained include medical workers, teachers, civil servants, media workers, writers, people with illnesses or disabilities and children, The Guardian reported.
Cases include an 82-year-old woman with Alzheimer’s who was jailed for six weeks and a single mother separated from her children. When she was released after 53 days, she found them begging on the streets, according to the publication.
According to a soldier who spoke to The Guardian, the Sde Teiman military base once held so many sick, disabled and elderly detainees that they had their own hangar, known as “the geriatric pen.”
The scale of civilian detention is based on Israeli intelligence data revealed in an investigation by The Guardian, +972 Magazine and Local Call.
Israel’s military intelligence maintains a database of more than 47,000 people it classifies as fighters with Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. It is regularly updated with information from captured files, The Guardian reported.
In May, the database listed 1,450 individuals in detention whose files were marked “arrested.” At that time, Israel had detained 6,000 people under its “unlawful combatants” legislation, which allows indefinite detention without charge or trial.
Israel is also holding up to 300 Palestinians suspected of involvement in the Oct. 7 attacks in criminal detention, though none have faced trial, according to The Guardian.
Israeli soldiers and rights groups report even lower ratios of fighters to civilians. Senior officers told Haaretz that “85 to 90 per cent” of those detained in late 2023 were not Hamas members.
'2,750 Palestinians were held as unlawful combatants'
Samir Zaqout of the Al Mezan Center for Human Rights told The Guardian: “We believe the proportion of civilians among those detained is even higher than Israel’s own figures suggest. At most, perhaps one in six or seven might have any link to Hamas or other militant factions, and even then, not necessarily through their military wings.”
The Israeli military said more than 2,000 civilians had been released after no militant links were found, describing this as proof of “a thorough review process.” It added that “most” detainees were “involved in terrorist activities.”
In May, 2,750 Palestinians were held as unlawful combatants, with 1,050 released under cease-fire deals, according to The Guardian.
Among them was 82-year-old Fahamiya al-Khalidi, who was detained in Gaza City in December 2023 with her carer and held for six weeks. A military medic also told the Guardian: “I remember her limping badly toward the clinic. And she’s classified as an unlawful combatant. The way that label is used is insane.”
The military later said her detention was “not appropriate and was the result of a local, isolated error in judgment,” but added that “individuals with medical conditions or even disabilities can still be involved in terrorism.”
Israel’s Unlawful Combatants Law allows detention without presenting evidence in court. Access to a lawyer can be delayed up to 180 days, and detainees can be held 75 days before appearing before a judge. Since October 2023, no trials have been reported for detainees from Gaza.
By August, Israel’s prison service recorded 2,662 unlawful combatants, with more in military detention, according to The Guardian.
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