RAMALLAH, Palestine

The Israeli army has detained at least 98 Palestinian journalists since the start of the Israel-Hamas war on Oct. 7 last year, including 52 still languishing in Israeli jails, a prisoners' group said Monday. 

In a statement, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society, a non-governmental organization advocating for prisoners' rights, said among the detained journalists, 15 are being held under administrative detention, including six female journalists, and at least 17 journalists from the Gaza Strip were detained.

The Israeli policy of administrative detention allows Israeli authorities to extend the detention of a Palestinian prisoner indefinitely without charge or trial.

The statement noted that among the journalist detainees from Gaza are Nidal Al-Wahidi and Haitham Abdelwahid, who were subjected to forced disappearance with no information about their conditions.

Thousands of Palestinians were arrested by the Israeli army from areas across the Gaza Strip, but Israeli authorities have refused to give specific figures.

Israel’s ongoing war on the Gaza Strip has killed nearly 40,800 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured over 94,200 others, according to local health authorities.

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

Israel faces accusations of genocide for its actions in Gaza at the International Court of Justice.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar