Outbreak of Scabies among freed Palestinian prisoners

The disease has spread widely in Israeli prisons since the beginning of the genocide in Gaza. The main causes are the deprivation of Palestinian detainees from basic hygiene items, overcrowding in small, enclosed cells, and the punitive policies imposed by the prison administration.

Scabies is a contagious skin infection caused by a mite called Sarcoptes scabiei. The parasite burrows into the skin, creating tiny tunnels where it lays eggs, leading to severe itching, bleeding sores, and inflamed rashes. Thin lines beneath the skin—especially between fingers, around the wrists, underarms, waist, and genital area—are typical symptoms.

According to human rights organizations, the outbreak among Palestinian prisoners is a result of the occupying regime’s systematic retaliation following the Al-Aqsa Flood operation.

Israeli authorities reportedly confiscated all hygiene products—including soap, shampoo, and toothpaste—prevented prisoners from shaving or washing for months, sealed ventilation routes to block air and sunlight, overcrowded prisoners in cells, and even deliberately transferred infected detainees to spread the disease among others.

The latest reports from the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society indicate that the spread of scabies in Israeli prisons has reached unprecedented levels and now affects even child detainees. As a result, many wards have suspended outdoor access for prisoners.

This situation represents yet another manifestation of the systematic violation of Palestinian prisoners’ human rights by the occupying regime—turning physical suffering and disease into a method of slow, deliberate torture.