Guards inside Israeli detention facilities shot Palestinian prisoners with rubber and plastic projectiles, leaving several individuals severely injured, a report published on Tuesday showed.
Physicians for Human Rights Israel and the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel documented 21 shooting incidents across five prisons since October 2023. Most of these events occurred in late 2025 and the first half of 2026. Testimonies indicate that the discharges frequently happened at close range without any preceding unrest.
The most severe case involved an inmate shot in the testicle at Ketziot Prison in southern Israel in June. Medical records from Soroka Hospital showed the organ had been completely destroyed, requiring its surgical removal.
The victim told his lawyer that guards had kicked him in the testicles during a strip search a week earlier. He stated that he was allowed to see a doctor only two days later.
One week after the beating, members of the Israeli Prison Service’s Masada unit fired rubber bullets into his cell. The projectiles struck him in the previously injured testicle and behind his right knee.
The prisoner stated that guards dragged him about 50 metres while he bled heavily. He eventually received medical attention before being transferred to a hospital.
In another documented case from July, an inmate at Ketziot underwent surgery for a fractured left shin after a rubber bullet struck him. A former inmate also recounted that guards shot him at close range in April and denied him adequate medical care for 15 days, leading to surgery only after his release.
The rights groups stated that shootings occurred inside cells, in prison yards, and in areas where inmates waited to meet lawyers. In August, the organizations urged Israeli authorities to halt the use of such ammunition against prisoners, warning of potentially fatal injuries.
The Israeli Prison Service rejected calls for a blanket ban. The agency stated that the use of less-lethal weapons was based on operational needs and threat assessments.
Meirav Ben Zeev, a lawyer with the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, told reporters that prisoners were reluctant to report abuse for fear of retaliation. She said complaints filed in recent years had not resulted in prosecutions.
Around 9,350 Palestinians, including 350 children and 90 women, are held in Israeli prisons. Palestinian and Israeli rights groups have reported widespread torture, starvation, and medical neglect, contributing to dozens of deaths in custody.
