Imprisoned Palestinian Child Undergoes Open-Heart Surgery, Wounded Prisoner Loses Foot as Israel's Medical Crimes Against Palestinian Prisoners Escalate

 

Palestinian Prisoner’s Society

 

July 30, 2026

 

Ramallah, occupied Palestine – The Palestinian Prisoner’s Society holds Israeli occupation authorities and their entire prison system fully responsible for the fate of the 15-year-old detained child, Mohammad Suleiman Hamed from the town of Tuqu’ near Bethlehem, who has been detained since February 2026.

 

The boy suffered serious deterioration in his health condition a few days ago, and his family was later informed that he had undergone open-heart surgery, while in custody, at the Israeli "Shaare Zedek" hospital in occupied Jerusalem, without allowing any of his family members to visit him or check on him. His health condition remains serious, and he requires medical care and intensive treatment.

 

The PPS explained that, according to his family, the child did not suffer from any health problems before his arrest, and that the family was surprised by a call from a human rights organisation informing them that their son would undergo surgery in the hospital.

 

In a related context, the wounded prisoner Malek Hani Jibril (30) also from the town of Tuqu’ underwent surgery that resulted in the amputation of his right foot, after being shot by occupation forces at the “300” military checkpoint at the start of this month, and then subsequently arrested while injured. The PPS also held the occupation authorities fully responsible for the deterioration that resulted in the amputation of his foot, while he remains in detention.

 

The PPS stressed that what happened to Mohammed Hamed and Malek Jibril is only one example of the thousands of cases faced by Palestinian political prisoners, in light of the organised crimes carried out by the prison system against them, within a criminal context that is parallel to the ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people.

 

The issue of limb amputations has become one of the most serious issues that is currently being addressed in monitoring the conditions of wounded prisoners, especially since many detainees in Gaza were shot before their arrest and ended up with amputated limbs, in addition to hundreds of wounded people who were arrested after being injured, some of whom underwent amputations before their arrest, and who are still deprived of the necessary health care and medical support equipment that would enable them to meet their basic needs inside prisons.

 

The PPS added that occupation authorities continue to deprive wounded and sick prisoners of the necessary treatment, as part of a systematic policy that uses medical neglect, starvation and torture as additional tools to target prisoners, which has led to an unprecedented spread of diseases and injuries among them.

 

It stressed that the scale of the crimes committed inside prisons has caused the largest proportion of prisoners today to suffer from health problems to varying degrees, even those who entered prisons in good health, as the detention environment based on torture, abuse and deprivation has turned into an environment that produces diseases and disabilities.

 

The PPS stated that the competent institutions face great challenges in monitoring the health conditions of prisoners and obtaining their medical files, because of the procrastination and procedures imposed by the occupation authorities, in addition to the reluctance of many prisoners to request treatment for fear of being subjected to further attacks and abuse. The institutions have documented dozens of cases in which prisoners were subjected to severe beatings, humiliation and brutal assaults during their transfer to the so-called prison clinics or to civilian hospitals, to the extent that the journey of treatment itself has become a journey of torture and a violation of human dignity.

 

The PPS renewed its call to the international community, the United Nations and its competent mechanisms, foremost among which are the Special Rapporteurs, the Independent International Commission of Inquiry and the International Committee of the Red Cross, to assume their legal and moral responsibilities and to take urgent and effective steps to oblige the occupation authorities to provide the necessary medical treatment to all prisoners and detainees, especially the wounded and sick, to stop the systematic medical crimes against them, and to ensure that they are not subjected to any form of torture or humiliation during their transfer to receive treatment.

 

It also called on international human rights institutions to intensify their efforts in documenting medical crimes and crimes of torture committed against prisoners and the wounded inside the occupation's prisons, and to work to prosecute and hold accountable those responsible for them before international forums, as they are part of the system of grave violations that have escalated in an unprecedented manner in the wake of the genocide, and constitute a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law and international human rights law, in order to ensure that the perpetrators do not escape accountability and punishment.

 

(ENDS)