Ankara: Israel is holding 90 Palestinian women in its prisons, where they face hunger, abuse, and strip searches, a prisoners' affairs group said Wednesday. In a statement, the Palestinian Prisoner Society highlighted the plight of these women, most of whom are detained at Damon prison in northern Israel, including two minors.

According to Anadolu Agency, the detainees include a pregnant woman, 25 administrative detainees held without charge, three journalists, and two cancer patients. The group emphasized the harsh conditions faced by the detained women, including hunger, deprivation, medical neglect, abuse, solitary confinement, and assaults, including strip searches.

The group stated that most arrests are carried out on allegations of incitement, adding that more than 700 women have been detained since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023, primarily in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, with no clear data available for arrests in Gaza. The escalation comes during one of the deadliest periods for Palestinian women, with continued violations, including physical and sexual assaults and the detention of women as leverage against their families.

On April 14, the Prisoners Society, Addameer, and the Commission of Detainees' Affairs said in a joint statement that more than 9,600 Palestinians were held in Israeli prisons as of early April, including 86 women and about 350 children. Since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023, attacks by the Israeli army and occupiers in the West Bank have killed at least 1,133 Palestinians, wounded about 11,700 others, and led to nearly 22,000 arrests, according to Palestinian figures.

In a landmark opinion in July 2024, the International Court of Justice declared Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory illegal and called for the evacuation of all settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.