Israel to allow Red Cross prison visits for first time since October 7 attack

Israel has told its Supreme Court it will allow the International Committee of the Red Cross International Committee of the Red Cross to visit prisons holding Palestinian security detainees for the first time since the Hamas-led attack of October 7, 2023, according to a court filing.

Under the decision, made on the instruction of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin Netanyahu, Red Cross representatives would be permitted to tour detention facilities and meet prison staff, Haaretz writes.

However, they would still be barred from holding private meetings with individual prisoners.

Israel suspended Red Cross prison visits and stopped sharing information on Palestinian detainees at the start of the war. Since then, conditions in security prisons have been significantly tightened under National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir Itamar Ben-Gvir, drawing criticism from rights groups and security officials.

The Israeli human rights organisation B’Tselem B'Tselem has previously published allegations of widespread abuse in detention facilities, including violence, starvation, and denial of medical care, based on testimonies from released prisoners.

In August, Israel’s Supreme Court criticised the government for blocking Red Cross access, warning of international reputational damage. According to sources present at a closed hearing, Supreme Court President Isaac Amit said:

"right now what is being said all over the world is that Israeli prisons are Guantanamo" and that reports allege "there is starvation, that dozens of prisoners are dying. You are putting us, the court, in the front."

By Aghakazim Guliyev