‘We are never full’: Palestinian prisoners claim they recieved little food in Israeli prisons

Samer Khawaireh, 45, told Reuters that all he was given to eat in Israel’s prisons was ten thin pieces of bread over the course of a day, with a bit of hummus and tahini, and tuna twice a week.

Five months after Israel’s Supreme Court ruled that its prisons were failing to provide enough food for Palestinian detainees and ordered conditions be improved, former prisoners and Israeli activists say not much has changed.

Samer Khawaireh, 45, told Reuters that all he was given to eat in Israel’s Megiddo and Nafha prisons was ten thin pieces of bread over the course of a day, with a bit of hummus and tahini. Twice a week, some tuna.

Videos saved on Khawaireh’s phone show him at normal weight before he was detained in the West Bank city of Nablus last April, and clearly emaciated upon his release. He says he lost 22 kg during nine months in captivity, emerging a month ago covered in scabies sores and so gaunt and disheveled his 9-year-old son Azadeen didn’t recognize him.

Reuters could not independently determine the total number of prisons where food scarcity prevailed, or the total number of inmates who experienced its toll.

Reuters could not independently verify Khawaireh’s diet during his captivity, the reasons for his extreme weight loss, or exactly how widespread such an experience is among the 9,000 Palestinians held in Israeli jails.

But it was consistent with descriptions in some reports compiled by lawyers after prison visits. Reuters reviewed 13 such reports from December and January, in which 27 prisoners complained of a lack of food, with most saying provisions had not changed since the court order.

Palestinian prisoners claim they were starved in Israeli jails

The Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI), which was involved in last year’s landmark court case that led to the order for better treatment for prisoners, has accused the government of harboring a “policy of starvation” in prisons.

TheIsrael Prisons Service declined to comment on Khawaireh’s individual case but said it “rejects allegations of ‘starvation’ or systematic neglect. Nutrition and medical care are provided based on professional standards and operational procedures.”

The service “operates in accordance with the law and court rulings,” and all complaints are investigated through official channels, a spokesperson said.

“Basic rights, including access to food, medical care, and adequate living conditions, are provided in accordance with the law and applicable procedures, by professionally trained staff.”

Khawaireh, a journalist at a Nablus radio station who was held without charge, said he was never told why he was detained in a night raid on his house in April. Israel’s military declined to comment.

Israel bars Red Cross from prisons, impeding independent verification of conditions

A proposal put forward in September 2025 by Israel’s National Security Council would have allowed Red Cross workers to visit terrorists in Israeli prisons. However, it was reportedly removed because the National Security Council believed it would never secure a majority of ministers’ support.

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir voiced his opposition at the time, saying, “While Hamas continues to hold hostages in Gaza, it is impossible for terrorists to benefit from visits and preferential conditions. The National Security Council’s proposal is a serious mistake that signals weakness to the enemy.”

ACRI has petitioned Israel’s Supreme Court to allow the Red Cross access to Palestinian detainees. It has also applied to the court to hold the prison service in contempt for failing to comply with last September’s order to improve conditions.

Five High Court justices convened in October to hear a high-stakes petition asking that the government reinstate visits by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to Palestinian detainees held in Israeli custody.

The ICRC has publicly confirmed that it has been denied access to Palestinian detainees since October 2023, calling the exclusion a breach of its longstanding humanitarian mandate in conflict zones.

A ruling ordering renewed access would present a pivotal test of how Israel balances wartime security imperatives with its legal and humanitarian commitments.

The government’s position is that Red Cross access poses a security risk – citing concerns about interference with prison operations and the introduction of “foreign agents” into sensitive facilities.

In June 2024, in response to the petition, the State of Israel announced plans to develop an “alternative mechanism” to replace traditional ICRC visits.

“All the indications that we’re getting are that not much has changed” since the court ruling, the group’s executive director, Noa Sattath, told Reuters. “The prisoners are not getting more food if they ask for it. There hasn’t been any medical examination of the situation of the prisoners, and the prisoners are still hungry.”

The Supreme Court did not respond to a request for comment on the case.

Ben-Gvir compares treatment of Palestinian prisoners to treatment of Israeli hostages

Throughout the war in Gaza, Ben-Gvir, who is in charge of the prisons service, has compared Israel’s treatment of Palestinians with the abuse faced by Israeli hostages held in Gaza by Hamas, many of whom were released in a state of near starvation that shocked Israelis.

Sattath, of ACRI, told Reuters the treatment of hostages held by terrorists provides no justification for mistreating Palestinian detainees.

He has since publicly denounced courts for trying to force prisons to coddle Israel’s enemies. During last year’s court hearings, he called the case “crazy and delusional” in a post on X, mocked the judges for debating “whether the killers’ menu is balanced,” and said he was “here to make sure the terrorists get the bare minimum.”

Anna Barsky contributed to this report.