More than 350 Palestinian children were being held in Israeli prisons at the end of 2025, according to data cited by rights groups, with many detained without a formal charge and subjected to harsh conditions, advocacy organizations and testimonies indicate.
A total of 351 Palestinian minors were in Israeli custody as of December 31, 2025, according to figures from the Israeli Prison Service (IPS) cited by Save the Children. Of those, 180, or 51 percent, were held under “administrative detention” – a practice that allows imprisonment without charge or trial.
Rights groups say the conditions surrounding these detentions raise serious concerns. According to Defense for Children International-Palestine (DCIP), most detained children report being arrested during nighttime raids, blindfolded, bound, strip-searched, and subjected to physical and verbal assault.
“They are often taken from their homes without being able to access lawyers, without being able to speak to their parents,” Alexandra Saieh, Head of Global Strategic Influencing and Policy at Save the Children, told Al Arabiya English.
Several detainees reported experiencing or witnessing sexual violence, forced stripping, and beatings, while others described being subjected to electric shocks in interrogation facilities. One detainee reportedly recounted being held in a room known as the “disco room,” where loud music was played continuously while he was deprived of food, water, and access to a toilet.
“For six days I was given only a bottle cap of water a day … I was beaten nonstop and occasionally given electric shocks,” the detainee said, describing conditions that left him injured and bleeding, according to a testimonial published in a January 2026 report by Israeli human rights group B’Tselem.
Such accounts are consistent with broader findings by DCIP, which says children are frequently interrogated without a lawyer or family member present.
The issue has gained further attention following the death of 17-year-old Walid Ahmad, who became the first known Palestinian minor to die in Israeli custody since October 2023, according to DCIP.
An autopsy indicated he likely died from “extreme, likely prolonged malnutrition,” dehydration caused by illness, and complications worsened by a lack of medical care. He collapsed in the prison yard and died on March 22, 2025, in Megiddo prison, the group said.
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