The Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs Commission and the Palestinian Prisoners Society reported today, Saturday, the martyrdom of an elderly man from the Gaza Strip in an Israeli occupation detention camp.

The two prisoners’ affairs bodies identified the 78-year-old martyred detainee as Ahmad Rizq Qodeih, who was arrested, along with members of his family, during the ground invasion of Khan Younis carried out by the Israeli occupation on February 7.

استسّهاد الأسير أحمد رزق قديح "ابو خالد" من بلدة خزاعة شرقي خان يونس، اعتقل خلال حملات الاعتقال التعسفي التي شنّها الاحتلال الصهيوني بحق المواطنين في قطاع غزة.https://t.co/IyVtHeRpP5#الاسير_مش_رقم pic.twitter.com/orG5Ssi5b0

— الأسير مش رقم (@Freethemall6) March 2, 2024

The said bodies reported the testimony of one of the detainees who was with the elderly Palestinian and was recently released. He explained that “Qodeih was subjected to torture after his arrest and was martyred in one of the camps, yet the exact name of the camp remains unknown.” However, he did specify that the camp is about two hours away from the “Kerem Shalom” checkpoint.

In the details of the testimony, “Qodeih was transferred for investigation and was subjected to severe torture, concentrated on his limbs, with evident torture marks on his body after he was returned to the detention area.”

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The two bodies also explained that the witness revealed harsh details to Qodeih’s family about his final moments before his martyrdom, where he asked to shower and have one last meal, as a final wish, before dying right in front of them. 

After contacting Qodeih’s family, they confirmed that the elderly martyr did not suffer from any chronic diseases before his arrest and that he was the father of 11 children, one of whom was martyred in 2008.

The Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs Commission and the Palestinian Prisoners Society added that the rise in the number of martyrs in Israeli occupation detention centers and prisons after October 7, as a result of torture, systematic retaliatory measures, and medical crimes, reflects a clear decision to murder the detainees, as part of the ongoing genocide in Gaza and the all-out aggression against the Palestinian people. This also goes hand in hand with the crime of enforced disappearance, which stands today as one of the most prominent systematic and serious crimes that the occupation insists on carrying out against the Palestinians detained from Gaza.

Read next: 'Israel' accused of 'crime of enforced disappearance' in Gaza: PPS

It is noteworthy that specialized human rights institutions have made repeated calls to international institutions at all levels to stop the crime of forced disappearance, through which the occupation aims to carry out more crimes without impunity, in addition to manipulating the law however it wishes, by approving special regulations for the detainees of Gaza.

With the martyrdom of Qodeih, the number of martyrs killed inside Israeli occupation prisons and detention camps since October 7 has risen to 12, including 4 from Gaza, one of whom has not been identified until today, in addition to the martyrdom Muhammad Abu Sneineh from occupied al-Quds, who was detained despite his injury and later succumbed to his wounds at Hadassah Hospital.

The prisoners’ affairs bodies stated that the occupation had previously admitted to the execution of one of the detainees without announcing his identity, revealing that they, as competent authorities, had not received any information about the executed detainee. 

This coincides with revelations made by Israeli media outlets that spoke about detainees killed in the “Sde Teman” detention center in Bir al-Sabe’ without disclosing their identities or the conditions under which they died, not to mention the field executions that took place against detained citizens. Their numbers remain unknown due to difficulties and complications in the documentation processes in Gaza.

Read more: Israeli soldiers kidnapped infant, other children: Euro-Med