Thursday 15 Oct 2026
Israeli guards fire rubber bullets at Palestinian prisoners at close range. (Photo/AP)
Israeli prison guards have shot Palestinian detainees with rubber bullets in confined spaces, leaving one prisoner requiring surgery and another undergoing an operation for a fractured shin, Israeli daily Haaretz reported, citing medical records and inmate testimonies.
According to Physicians for Human Rights Israel and the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, at least 21 shooting incidents have been documented across five Israeli prisons since October 2023.
Rights investigators noted that most cases occurred in late 2025 and the first half of 2026, often at point-blank range and without any preceding unrest or security disturbance.
The most severe incident occurred in June at Ketziot Prison in southern Israel.
Hospital records from Soroka Medical Centre confirmed that an inmate's organ was completely destroyed by rubber-coated ammunition, necessitating immediate surgical excision.
In formal legal testimony, the prisoner stated that guards initially kicked him during a strip search a week earlier before members of the prison service's specialised Masada unit discharged rubber rounds directly into his cell, striking his previously injured groin and knee before dragging him roughly 50 metres while bleeding heavily.
Systemic abuse
Further records from Ketziot revealed that another prisoner underwent emergency surgery in July after sustaining a fractured left shin from a rubber bullet.
A former detainee told Haaretz he was shot at close range in April and denied medical care for 15 days, receiving surgery only upon release.
Rights organisations confirmed that shootings occurred inside sleeping cells, exercise yards, and legal consultation waiting areas.
Although rights monitors formally petitioned authorities in August to prohibit the use of rubber and plastic ammunition in confined settings, the Israeli Prison Service rejected a blanket ban.
Meirav Ben Zeev, a lawyer with the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, emphasised that detainees remain fearful of reporting abuse due to potential retaliation, noting that previous complaints failed to produce prosecutions.
Around 9,350 Palestinians, including 350 children and 90 women, remain incarcerated in Israeli facilities amid widespread reports of torture, starvation, and severe medical neglect.
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Source: TRT
