Gaza Herald _A widely shared video captured a powerful moment on Wednesday as a newly released Palestinian prisoner carried his fellow detainee on his back after the two were freed from an Israeli prison, where the second man appeared too weak to walk on his own.
The footage shows the pair leaving the prison together, with one prisoner supporting the other, highlighting the physical condition of many Palestinians released from Israeli prisons.
Released Prisoners Show Severe Physical Deterioration
Similar scenes have become increasingly common over the past two years, with many Palestinians leaving Israeli prisons visibly emaciated, exhausted, and in poor health.
Palestinian human rights organizations have documented torture, ill-treatment, inadequate medical care, and insufficient food inside Israeli detention facilities, citing testimonies and reports from released prisoners. The organizations say these conditions have contributed to the serious deterioration of many former detainees’ health.
Thousands of Palestinians Remain in Israeli Custody
In a report released Wednesday, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club said Israeli forces have carried out approximately 24,600 arrests across the occupied West Bank since the start of the war on Gaza in October 2023.
The organization said the figures reflect what it described as a broader shift in Israel’s arrest policy, stating that detentions have become part of a system of intimidation, repression, and collective punishment. It added that hundreds of testimonies have documented abuses inside Israeli prisons, interrogation centers, and military detention facilities.
According to the report, about 9,400 Palestinians are currently held in Israeli prisons, including 94 women and more than 350 children detained in Megiddo and Ofer prisons.
The report also states that 3,244 Palestinians are being held under administrative detention without trial, while Israel classifies another 1,320 detainees as “unlawful combatants.”
The image of one freed prisoner carrying another has resonated widely, becoming a symbol for many Palestinians of the hardships endured inside Israeli prisons and renewing calls for greater international attention to the conditions of Palestinian detainees.
