Gaza Herald – More than half of Palestinian children detained in Israeli prisons at the end of 2025 were held under “administrative detention,” without formal charge or trial, according to Defense for Children International-Palestine (DCIP).
As of 31 December 2025, 51% of the 351 Palestinian children in Israeli custody were under this system, a record high since DCIP began monitoring in 2008.
The figures only cover prisons under the Israel Prison Service and do not include children held in Israeli military detention and interrogation centers, where first-hand testimonies describe systemic torture and dehumanizing conditions.
Administrative detention allows Israeli authorities to hold Palestinians for six-month periods that can be renewed indefinitely.
Human rights groups report widespread abuses in these facilities, including torture, sexual violence, beatings, denial of medical care, and solitary confinement.
DCIP and other organizations, including Addameer, say these practices violate the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which Israel has ratified.
The statement comes amid a surge in arrests across the occupied Palestinian territories, particularly following Israeli genocide in Gaza since October 2023.
B’Tselem has previously described the Israeli prison system as a “network of torture camps,” citing systemic institutionalized abuse of Palestinian detainees.
