RAMALLAH, Palestine

An elderly person from the Gaza Strip died “of systematic torture” in Israel’s Ayalon Prison in Ramla, bringing the total number of Palestinian detainees killed in custody since Oct. 7 of last year to 24, rights groups said on Saturday.

The Palestinian Commission of Detainees’ Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoners Club announced in a joint statement the “martyrdom of prisoner Nasr Zeyara, 65, from Gaza, in Ramla prison on Aug. 16.”

“Zeyara is one of the many prisoners from Gaza who have died due to systematic torture, and the occupation (Israeli government) continues to conceal the identities of the majority of them and to withhold their bodies,” the statement added.

He was arrested on Dec. 29 last year, along with his son Jihad Zeyara (37), who is currently in Negev prison, the statement said, citing his family.

Zeyara, who was married and the father of seven children, was taken into custody by Israeli forces from his residence in Gaza City's Al-Tuffah neighborhood, the family said, adding that before being taken into custody, he and his son endured hours of grueling interrogation within the house.

The groups noted that “prisoners who were visited in Ramla prison confirmed that martyr Zeyara was transferred to Ramla prison a week before his death and was suffering from a complicated health condition, including burns on the lower part of his body.”

“With the martyrdom of Zeyara, the number of martyrs among the prisoners and detainees announced after Oct. 7, since the start of the genocidal war against our people in Gaza, rises to 24 martyrs, and these are only the announced ones whose identities are known," according to the statement.

The rights groups said, "The occupation (Israeli government) continues to conceal the identities of dozens of martyrs among the detainees who have died in prisons and camps, and there is no final and accurate number of them to this day, in addition to detainees who have been subjected to field executions."

The rights groups held Israel "fully responsible for the martyrdom of Nasr Zeyara, who was subjected to a compounded crime through his arrest, brutal treatment, and detention in humiliating and harsh conditions.”

They explained that the Israeli prison administration announced 1,584 detainees classified as "unlawful combatants," while Israeli media reported the detention of more than 4,500.

Israel has continued its brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip following an attack by the Palestinian group Hamas last Oct. 7, despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.

The onslaught has resulted in nearly 40,700 Palestinian deaths, mostly women and children, and over 94,000 injuries, according to local health authorities.

An ongoing blockade of Gaza has led to severe shortages of food, clean water and medicine, leaving much of the region in ruins.

Israel faces accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which has ordered a halt to military operations in the southern city of Rafah, where over one million Palestinians had sought refuge before the area was invaded on May 6.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala