Israeli data shows majority of Gaza detainees are civilians held without trial

Classified Israeli military intelligence data has revealed that only one in four Palestinians detained from Gaza are identified as fighters, while civilians form the overwhelming majority of those imprisoned without charge or trial.

The investigation, carried out by the Guardian, +972 Magazine and Local Call, found that detainees include medical workers, teachers, writers, civil servants, children, and the elderly, many of whom have been held under abusive conditions for extended periods.

The figures were drawn from a military intelligence database that is considered the most accurate record of Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters and which listed 47,000 names at the time.

In May this year, it recorded 1,450 detainees classified as fighters, although Israel had already imprisoned 6,000 Palestinians from Gaza under the “unlawful combatants” legislation, which permits indefinite detention without presenting evidence in open court.

This disparity indicated that three-quarters of those detained were civilians, even by Israel’s own assessment, and it has raised concern among rights groups who argue the true proportion of civilians is even higher.

The legislation allows detainees to be held for months without access to lawyers or judges, and at the start of the war the waiting periods were extended further, effectively permitting prolonged detention without due process. Rights organisations have described the law as a tool designed to facilitate mass imprisonment and enforced disappearances, stripping detainees of protections guaranteed under international law.

By August this year, Israel’s prison service held a record 2,662 unlawful combatants, while an unknown number more were confined in military facilities.

Evidence gathered by rights groups and testimonies from soldiers suggested that large numbers of detainees were elderly, disabled, or suffering from chronic illnesses, and that the Sde Teiman base at one stage held so many such prisoners that they were confined to a separate hangar referred to as a “geriatric pen”.

Among the cases highlighted were that of an 82-year-old woman with Alzheimer’s who was imprisoned for six weeks and of a single mother who was separated from her young children, who were later found begging on the streets after her detention. Other detainees included women who miscarried in custody or were separated from breastfeeding infants, compounding the humanitarian concerns surrounding the practice.

Although Israel has released more than 2,000 detainees after finding no connection to militant activity, many were held for weeks or months beforehand, and soldiers admitted that civilians were often kept in custody as leverage in negotiations over Israeli hostages.

The revelations also exposed a pattern in which Israeli politicians, military officials and media referred to all detainees as terrorists, regardless of age, health, or evidence of militant ties. Human rights organisations argue that the detentions are intended not only as a tool of control but also as bargaining chips, continuing a longstanding policy of using both prisoners and even bodies of the deceased in negotiations.