Palestinian paramedic dies in Israeli prison

RAMALLAH — A Palestinian paramedic from the Gaza Strip has died while held in an Israeli prison, more than a year after his arrest, Wafa news agency reported on Thursday citing prisoner advocacy groups.The Palestinian Civil Affairs Authority, the official liaison with Israel, said Hatem Ismail Rayan, 59, died in Israel’s Negev Prison in southern Israel, according to a joint statement by the Palestinian Prisoner Society and the Palestinian Commission of Detainees Affairs.Rayan was detained on Dec. 27, 2024, when Israeli forces stormed the Kamal Adwan Hospital, the largest medical facility in northern Gaza. His son, Moaz, who was wounded at the time of arrest, remains in Israeli custody, Wafa said.They carried out a forced evacuation of patients and staff, and arrested its director, Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya. He remains detained without charge.Rayan is one of more than 100 prisoners and detainees who have died in Israeli prisons since the start of the war in Gaza in October 2023. Only 88 of them have been officially identified, 52 of whom were from Gaza. The total number of Palestinian prisoners who have died in Israeli custody since 1967 now stands at 325.The two organizations cited torture, starvation, sexual abuse, and systematic denial of basic rights, alongside degrading and inhumane detention conditions.Other Palestinian prisoner groups say more than 9,300 Palestinians were held in Israeli prisons as of Feb. 5, including about 350 children. — Agencies