The Palestine Centre for Prisoners’ Studies has reported a sharp rise in the detention and abuse of Palestinian children since the outbreak of the war on the Gaza Strip in October 2023, documenting more than 1,800 arrests of minors, including some as young as 10.
In a recent report, the centre said these arrests are not random but part of a systematic policy targeting Palestinian children, within a broader escalation of repression. It added that tens of thousands of children have been detained since the beginning of the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories.
The report noted a significant increase in violations since the start of the war, with harsher forms of abuse and torture against children. It highlighted serious practices such as starvation, which it said led to the death of 17-year-old detainee Walid Ahmad from the town of Silwad, inside Megiddo prison, after his health deteriorated due to lack of food and medical care.
According to the centre, arrests are often carried out in “violent and brutal” ways, including night raids on family homes, destruction of property, and the forcible detention of children. They are then transferred to interrogation centres, where they face beatings and humiliation, and are held in conditions lacking basic health standards.
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