In recent months, mounting evidence and firsthand accounts have brought renewed scrutiny to the treatment of Palestinian prisoners—especially children—held in Israeli military detention. The story of Mohammad Ibrahim, a 16-year-old Palestinian American from Florida, has become a flashpoint for international concern and political action, as lawmakers and human rights advocates call for urgent intervention to prevent further tragedy.
Mohammad’s ordeal began in February 2025, when, at just 15 years old, he was arrested by Israeli forces at his family’s home in the occupied West Bank. According to Defense for Children International-Palestine (DCIP), he was blindfolded and taken into custody, launching what has now become eight months of pre-trial detention. Israeli authorities have charged him with rock throwing, a common accusation leveled at Palestinian youths. Throughout this time, Mohammad has been denied visits from his family—a deprivation that, according to DCIP, is all too common in such cases.
Mohammad’s testimony, shared by DCIP, paints a grim picture of life inside Ofer military prison. "My section consists of 19 rooms, each equipped with four bunk beds," he recounted. "In each room, eight children occupy the beds, while the remaining children sleep on mattresses on the floor." The mattresses, he said, are "extremely light and inadequate," and the rooms lack any heating or cooling. "Each prisoner receives two blankets, yet we still feel cold at night. There is no heating or cooling system in the rooms. The only items present are mattresses, blankets, and a single copy of the Quran in each room."
But the deprivation doesn’t stop at uncomfortable sleeping arrangements. Mohammad described the meals as "extremely insufficient." Prisoners are not fed dinner. For breakfast, they receive three tiny pieces of bread and a spoonful of labneh. Lunch consists of "half a small cup of undercooked, dry rice, a single sausage, and three small pieces of bread." The lack of adequate nutrition has taken a toll: Mohammad has lost a significant amount of weight, and, like many others, he has contracted scabies—a skin disease that has become widespread in Israeli prisons due to poor hygiene and lack of cleaning materials.
Access to basic hygiene is severely restricted. Prisoners have limited opportunities to shower or use soap, and clean clothes are a rarity. The deprivation is compounded by the absence of any form of entertainment or comfort—just the bare essentials and a Quran. The situation, as described by Mohammad and corroborated by DCIP, is bleak, and the psychological toll is immense.
Mohammad’s plight is not an isolated case. According to the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society (PPS), as of October 22, 2025, eighty Palestinians have died in Israeli occupation prisons since October 7, 2023. The deaths often follow patterns of medical neglect and systematic deprivation. Just a day before the latest reporting, 49-year-old Mahmoud Talal Abdullah died from medical neglect while in Israeli custody. On the same day, Kamel Mohammed Mahmoud Al-Ajrami, a 69-year-old prisoner and father of six, died at Soroka Hospital after being held in Naqab Prison since his abduction from Gaza in October 2024.
The PPS has also highlighted the case of Azmi Nader Abu Hlayel, a 31-year-old detainee in Ofer Prison since December 2024, who contracted scabies more than six months ago but has been denied treatment. His lawyer reports that Abu Hlayel’s health has deteriorated drastically, with boils and ulcers spreading across his skin, leaving him unable to sleep. The situation worsened in September 2025, when prison staff allegedly assaulted him and fired rubber bullets, exacerbating his condition. Abu Hlayel’s weight has dropped to 49 kilograms, a result, PPS says, of a policy of systematic starvation in the prisons.
These cases are not outliers. Thousands of detainees have contracted scabies and other diseases inside Israeli prisons, with the PPS and other advocacy groups accusing the Israeli Prison Service of deliberately maintaining conditions that foster epidemics. A lack of cleaning materials, disinfectants, and access to clean clothes and regular showers has turned preventable diseases into tools of torture. The denial of medical treatment, according to the PPS, is not an oversight but a form of systematic oppression that has led to numerous deaths from the spread of epidemics and skin diseases.
For Mohammad Ibrahim, the danger is personal and immediate. His cousin, Sayfollah Musallet, a 20-year-old Palestinian American, was beaten to death by Israeli settlers in July 2025. The family’s grief has been compounded by the lack of accountability—no one has been arrested for Musallet’s killing—and by the fear that Mohammad could meet a similar fate. The memory of Walid Khalid Abdullah Ahmad, a 17-year-old Palestinian who died in Megiddo prison in March 2025 after being detained for six months without charges or trial, looms large. Lawmakers have drawn direct parallels between Walid’s death and Mohammad’s current situation.
On October 22, 2025, a coalition of 27 Democrats, led by Senators Chris Van Hollen (Maryland) and Jeff Merkley (Oregon), along with Representatives Kathy Castor and Maxwell Frost (both of Florida), sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee. The letter urges the U.S. government to pressure Israel for Mohammad’s release. The lawmakers warned, "In a disturbingly similar case, and underscoring our urgency concerning Mohammed’s continued pre-trial detention, 17-year-old Palestinian Walid Ahmad collapsed and died in Megiddo Prison on March 22nd, 2025 after also being detained for six months without charges or trial for allegedly throwing rocks. It is the responsibility of the U.S. government to ensure that this recent tragedy does not repeat itself with Mohammed."
The letter continued, "As we have been told repeatedly, ‘the Department of State has no higher priority than the safety and security of U.S. citizens abroad.’ We share that view and urge you to fulfill this responsibility by engaging the Israeli government directly to secure the swift release of this American boy."
Despite Mohammad’s status as a U.S. citizen, his family’s advocacy efforts, and growing pressure from Congress, there has been no breakthrough. Ayed Abu Eqtaish, director of DCIP’s accountability program, offered a sobering assessment: "Not even an American passport can protect Palestinian children. Despite his family’s advocacy in Congress and involvement of the U.S. embassy, Mohammad remains in Israeli prison. Israel is the only country in the world that systematically prosecutes children in military court. Despite obligations under U.S. and international law, the American government either doesn’t have the will or the power to help Mohammad, and continues to send Israel weapons with no restrictions."
The broader context is troubling. According to the PPS, Palestinian prisoners face an "escalating health catastrophe" in Israeli jails, with daily oppression, deprivation, and violence forming part of a policy aimed at gradual torture and killing. The deaths of prisoners like Mahmoud Talal Abdullah and Kamel Mohammed Mahmoud Al-Ajrami, and the suffering of detainees like Abu Hlayel and Mohammad, have become rallying points for those demanding accountability and reform.
As the world watches, the fate of Mohammad Ibrahim and thousands of other Palestinian prisoners remains uncertain. Their stories, now echoed in congressional corridors and international advocacy groups, have put a spotlight on a crisis that shows little sign of abating.