Bethlehem: The Palestinian Prisoners' Society (PPS) announced that 15-year-old detainee Mohammad Musa Hamid's case has exposed alleged systematic medical crimes within the Israeli prison system. The PPS claims these actions, including denying medical treatment, amount to 'slow killing' of Palestinian prisoners.
According to Palestine News and Information Agency - WAFA, Mohammad Hamid, a resident of Tuqu' town southeast of Bethlehem, was detained on February 25, 2026, and held in the minors' section of Ofer Prison. The PPS reports that Hamid, like other child detainees, faced harsh conditions including torture, abuse, starvation, and deprivation of medical care. His family and the International Committee of the Red Cross have been denied visitation rights, allegedly violating international humanitarian law.
In April 2026, Hamid contracted scabies, but the prison administration reportedly refused to provide treatment, worsening his condition and leading to severe skin infections. By July, Hamid's health deteriorated significantly. He developed a high fever and was transferred to the prison clinic, where initial examinations revealed an acute urinary tract infection and elevated blood sugar levels.
The PPS noted that Hamid was transferred to Shaare Zedek Medical Center on July 20 after the Ramle prison clinic refused to admit him due to his scabies infection. Despite his serious condition, he was returned to Ofer Prison within 12 hours and left on antibiotics without improvement for four days.
As his health continued to decline, Hamid was taken back to Shaare Zedek Medical Center on July 25. Tests revealed the infection had spread to multiple organs, including his heart and brain. On July 27, he underwent heart surgery, and it was later discovered he had suffered neurological damage, affecting several parts of his body, including his right foot, which might require amputation.
Throughout his hospitalization, Hamid remained shackled and guarded by prison officers. The PPS reported that on July 30, following intervention by Physicians for Human Rights, Hamid's family was permitted to visit him after Israeli authorities decided to release him due to his severe condition. However, he remains unconscious and on a ventilator in the intensive care unit at Shaare Zedek Medical Center, with doctors waiting for his condition to stabilize to assess the extent of the damage and determine whether amputation of his right foot is necessary.
The Palestinian Prisoners' Society emphasized that Hamid's case is part of a broader pattern of medical neglect in Israeli prisons, where Palestinian prisoners are allegedly deprived of necessary medical care until their conditions become critical or irreversible. The organization claims this is followed by the release of some detainees to avoid legal and criminal accountability.
The PPS claims that similar cases have been documented, describing them as a serious form of 'slow killing.'