Detention mechanisms

Detainees held under the Incarceration of Unlawful Combatants Law

Since the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, and the subsequent war, thousands of Palestinian residents of the Gaza Strip have been detained under the Incarceration of Unlawful Combatants Law, 5762-2002. Although initially arrested as terror suspects, according to information provided by the state during a July 2024 court proceeding, approximately 50% of the 4,000 detainees taken from Gaza and held in Israel in the early months of the war were returned to the Gaza Strip by military order, with no judicial proceedings in their cases.

According to the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI) figures, as of July 2025, a total of 2,854 individuals were held in custody in Israel under the Unlawful Combatants law, 450 of them in military facilities (Sde Teiman, Ofer, and Naftali). Following the implementation of the first stage of the ceasefire agreement in October 2025, which included the release of Palestinian prisoners and detainees, the number of individuals held under this law dropped to around 1,000 in IPS facilities and several hundred in military facilities.

Notably, military prison facilities lack any external oversight with regard to detention conditions, treatment of detainees, and detainees’ health. Additionally, whereas the IPS is obligated to disclose statistics about individuals in custody, none are published for military facilities.

The law was originally designed to regulate the detention of individuals who are not Israeli citizens suspected of being combatants affiliated with terrorist organizations and is typically applied to individuals apprehended outside of Israeli territory. The law denies detainees classified as unlawful combatants certain rights conferred by international law on civilians and prisoners of war. Since October 7, 2023, the law has been amended by temporary order. In its current form, it allows holding a detainee for 30 days (20 days for minors) without a formal order by a military authority, up to 45 days (30 days for minors) before being brought before a judge, and up to 75 days before being allowed legal counsel. Once such an order is issued, it remains in force indefinitely, provided a judge renews it every six months. As a result, detainees are held for months without review of the factual or legal basis for their detention, without legal counsel, and without the ability to notify family members of their detention. In the context of post–October 7 detention, this has amounted to many months in conditions that put the health and lives of detainees at risk. In February 2024, PCATI, HaMoked, PHRI, Gisha, and Adalah petitioned the HCJ to revoke the temporary order, arguing that it constitutes an extreme and disproportionate infringement on the rights to liberty, due process, and legal representation. Though considerable time has elapsed, the petition remains pending.

Contrary to past practices, families are not informed of the detention or where the detainee is being held, and ICRC representatives are not permitted to visit detention facilities. While the law mandates oversight of holding conditions, there is no information as to whether such oversight is in fact being carried out, by whom, what conclusions have been drawn, or whether any recommendations have been implemented.

For further reading, see PCATI, Incarceration of Unlawful Combatants Law (Amendment 4 and Temporary Provision – Iron Swords)

Administrative detention

As of September 2025, according to IPS data alone, Israel was holding 3,577 people in administrative detention. The vast majority of administrative detainees are residents of the West Bank. They are held without charge or trial, based on “reasonable grounds to believe that they will harm the security of the Area or public safety,” typically on the basis of classified information that is not accessible either to the detainee or their legal counsel. Administrative detention can last months or even years, with extensions approved by a military judge advocate every six months. Analysis of IPS data, as updated by HaMoked, shows that the monthly average number of administrative detainees since late 2023, and in the past two years, is more than three times higher than the monthly figures reported in previous years.

For current information on the number of Palestinian prisoners and detainees held by the IPS, see HaMoked, “Security” inmates held in prisons inside Israel