Israel bans Red Cross visits to hundreds of Palestinian detainees

By Abdel Raouf Arnaout and Betul Yilmaz

JERUSALEM / ISTANBUL (AA) – Israel prevented representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Wednesday from visiting hundreds of Palestinian detainees held in Israeli prisons, local media reported.

Israel’s public broadcaster KAN said that Defense Minister Israel Katz signed an order to ban visits to Palestinian prisoners by Red Cross teams, claiming that the visits “endanger state security.”

According to KAN, the order will apply to thousands of prisoners who are being held by the Israeli army as “unlawful combatants.”

The term “unlawful combatant” refers to Palestinians detained from the Gaza Strip and its surroundings during Israel’s brutal offensive on the enclave since October 2023.

The unlawful combatants legislation allows Israel to hold Palestinians indefinitely without evidence in open courts, denying them access to lawyers for extended periods.

The Israeli Prison Service said that the number of prisoners labeled as “unlawful combatants” reached 2,454 as of July.

They are reportedly subjected to systematic torture in Israeli prisons, including severe beatings, starvation, medical neglect, and other brutal practices, according to testimonies obtained by Palestinian lawyers.

Israel has killed more than 68,600 people, mostly women and children, and injured over 170,600 others in attacks in Gaza since October 2023.

The destructive war came to a halt under a ceasefire deal that took effect on Oct. 10 under US President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan.