Israel (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Israeli records show 25% of Gaza prisoners are fighters, with most detainees being civilians, including children and the elderly.
As reported by The Guardian, Israeli military data shows 25% of Gaza detainees are fighters, while most civilians are held without trial in abusive prisons.
Long-term detainees without charge include healthcare workers, teachers, civil servants, journalists, writers, children, and the disabled.
What did Israeli data reveal about Gaza detainees?
An investigation by the Guardian, the Israeli-Palestinian outlet +972 Magazine, and Hebrew-language Local Call has revealed the scale of civilian detention according to Israel’s own data.
More than 47,000 individuals are recorded in Israeli military intelligence files as members of Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
According to multiple intelligence sources, Israel’s database is its most reliable record, including captured Hamas files and regularly updated recruits.
In May, Israel’s database recorded 1,450 detainees marked “arrested,” representing just one in four held on suspected militant links since 7 October 2023.
Officials’ records showed that by May, 6,000 Palestinians were held as “unlawful combatants,” facing indefinite detention without charge or trial. Israel detains only 300 Gaza residents for involvement in the 7 October attacks, though formal trials have not taken place.
Israeli soldiers and rights groups report most detainees are civilians, with 85–90% not linked to Hamas, following 2023 photos.
HaMoked reports that Israel’s prison system detained 2,662 unlawful combatants by August, while more remain in military facilities.
An Israeli officer leading Khan Younis arrests said troops made no distinction
“between a terrorist who entered Israel on 7 October and a local water authority worker.”
Samir Zaqout’s views on the proportion of Gaza detainees linked to Hamas
The Gaza-based Al Mezan Centre for Human Rights, which represented hundreds of civilians detained in Israeli jails, its deputy director, Samir Zaqout, said,
“We believe the proportion of civilians among those detained is even higher than Israel’s own figures suggest.”
He added,
“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.”
What did Israel’s military say about civilian detainees and Fahamiya al-Khalidi?
Israel’s military said more than 2,000 detainees were released and sent back to Gaza. Officials said these individuals had no evidence of militant involvement, though some “disguise themselves as civilians,” and claimed the releases reflect careful detention reviews.
Officials did not deny the existence of the database or May figures, but said most of the detainees were involved in terrorist activities.
The military reports 2,750 Palestinians were permanently detained as unlawful combatants in May, and 1,050 were released under ceasefire agreements. All detainees are commonly labelled “terrorists” by Israel’s politicians, military, and media.
Fahamiya al-Khalidi, 82, suffering from Alzheimer’s, and her female carer were arrested in Gaza in December 2023 and held for six weeks under Israel’s unlawful combatant law. A military medic said she was disoriented, forgot her age, and still believed she was in Gaza after injuring herself at Anatot detention centre.
The medic added,
“I remember her limping badly toward the clinic. And she’s classified as an unlawful combatant. The way that label is used is insane.”
A military medic treating Khalidi said he also cared for a woman with heavy bleeding following a miscarriage. He added that a breastfeeding mother, separated from her infant, requested a pump to prevent her milk from drying up.
The Israeli military stated Khalidi was targeted using personal intelligence, though the detention should not have occurred, adding,
“The detention was not appropriate and was the result of a local, isolated error in judgment.”
The military said even those with medical issues or disabilities could have terrorist links, citing ex-Hamas commander Mohammed Deif.
What did Tal Steiner say about mass arrests and wrongful detentions?
Tal Steiner, the director of the Public Committee Against Torture, stated,
“As soon as the wave of mass arrests began in Gaza in October 2023, there was serious concern that many uninvolved people were being detained without cause.”
He added,
“This concern was confirmed when we learned that half of those arrested at the beginning of the war were eventually released, demonstrating that there had been no basis for their detention in the first place.”
What did Hassan Jabareen say about Israel’s unlawful combatant law?
Hassan Jabareen, head of Adalah, stated Israel’s legislation on the unlawful combatants law was “designed to facilitate the mass detention of civilians and enforced disappearances.”
He added,
“It strips detainees of protections guaranteed under international law, including safeguards specifically intended for civilians, using the ‘unlawful combatant’ label to justify the systematic denial of their rights.”
Al Mezan’s stance on the use of detained Gaza civilians
A spokesperson for Al Mezan stated,
“Even before 7 October, Israel withheld the bodies of hundreds of Palestinians, using them as bargaining chips instead of returning them to their families for burial.”
They added,
“We believe the thousands of civilians from Gaza now in detention are likewise intended to be used as bargaining chips.”
How are civilians being targeted in Gaza arrests?
Abeer Ghaban, 40, was arrested at an Israeli checkpoint in December 2023, separated from her 10-year-old daughter and two sons aged nine and seven. Although still married, she had been raising the children herself, who were left alone during her detention.
During interrogation, she discovered officers had mistaken her husband, a farmer, for a Hamas member. Officials admitted the error, yet she remained in detention for six more weeks.
After finding her children begging in the street, she added,
“They were alive, but seeing the state they had been in for 53 days without me broke me. I wished I had remained in prison rather than seeing them like that.”
Simcha Rothman, head of the Knesset’s constitution and justice committee, criticised the release of Mohammed Abu Salmiya from Gaza’s Shifa Hospital, saying it wasn’t linked to any hostage exchange.
Nesreen Deifallah spent weeks hunting for her missing son, Moatasem, 16, who vanished on 3 December 2024, even checking hospital morgues for his body.
A freed detainee told Nesreen Deifallah in August that Moatasem had been with him in detention. She was shocked to learn he was alive, yet she still cannot contact him.
David Lammy’s views on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza
UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy said,
“The humanitarian situation in Gaza remains catastrophic, with famine in Gaza City and women and girls bearing the brunt of the suffering.”
He stated,
“The UK is doing all we can to improve the situation, but we remain crystal clear: for aid to have impact, Israel must ensure it is allowed in and delivered safely and securely to civilians in desperate need.”
Mr Lammy added,
“An extra £3m funding can only have maximum impact if the government of Israel allows it. Israel must ensure protection of civilians, including healthcare staff and health infrastructure, and enable the delivery of life-saving medicines, medical equipment and healthcare supplies into Gaza.”
A UK official added,
“We will assess all the factors relevant to recognition, but as things stand, we’re on a pathway to recognition later in September.”
Key facts about the Gaza-Israel war
The war began on 7 October 2023 with a Hamas attack killing ~1,200 and taking 251 hostages. This sparked a major Israeli offensive.
By August 2025, over 63,000 Palestinians and 1,983 Israelis were killed. Gaza faces famine, disease, displacement, and destroyed homes and hospitals.