Senior Hamas official dies in “Israeli” custody

The Commission of Detainees Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS) have announced the death of Mustafa Muhammad Abu Arrah (63), a senior Hamas leader from the town of Aqaba/Tubas, after being transferred from Ramon Prison to Soroka Hospital.

According to the statement from the commission and the society, Abu Arrah, a prominent leader and former prisoner who had been detained several times since 1990 and was one of the deportees from Marj al-Zuhur, suffered from serious health issues prior to his arrest.

He required intensive medical care. However, from the moment of his arrest, he faced unprecedented crimes and measures, including torture, starvation, and medical negligence, which contributed to the deaths of prisoners in “Israeli” jails and camps.

The statement described Abu Arrah’s death as a form of slow murder, initiated from the moment of his arrest and denial of treatment, and is a part of the ongoing genocide and systematic killing perpetrated by the occupation with political decisions and public incitement by its extremist Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who has called for shooting prisoners in the head to address overcrowding in jails.

Hamas mourned Abu Arrah and, in a brief statement, promised "the prisoners freedom soon and relief from the unjust jails, medical neglect, and inhumane treatment they endure around the clock, which has intensified under the current Zionist government's decisions."

With Abu Arrah’s death, the number of martyrs among prisoners has risen to 19, including those whose identities have been announced. The occupation continues to conceal the identities of dozens of Gaza detainees who have died in its prisons and camps. The known identities of prisoners in the movement total 255, alongside numerous martyrs from Gaza detainees and those executed on the field, according to the Commission of Detainees Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoners Society (PPS).