Comparing the health status of Palestinian and Israeli inmates after the prisoner exchange

The first stage of the prisoner exchange occurred following the signing of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. About 100 Palestinian prisoners were freed from Israeli prisons in return for the release of three Israeli women.
The three Israeli inmates are reportedly in perfect health, according to Israeli media reports, but the released Palestinian inmates have horrifying tales of their experiences in Israeli jails.
Israeli prisoners in perfect health
A fresh report on the state of three Israeli women prisoners who were freed by the Palestinian resistance in Gaza in recent days has been made public by Israeli sources.
Three Israeli women prisoners released as part of the first phase of the ceasefire in Gaza have mastered Arabic during their 471 days in captivity, according to a reporter for the Israeli Kan channel.
However, the mother of "Emily Damari," a female inmate who was released, stated that her health is excellent and far better than she had anticipated.
"I can say that my daughter is in much better health than we expected and is doing well considering what she has been through," she stated to Israel Today.
Following her release in a prisoner exchange alongside Romy Gonen and Doron Steinbracher, Emily's mother made these remarks.
However, according to Israeli medical sources, none of the three female inmates who were released had any particular issues that needed to be addressed right away.
Absolutely inhumane conditions in Israeli prisons
The happiness and relief felt by Palestinians following the release of 90 prisoners from Israeli detention as part of the ceasefire deal to end fighting in Gaza has been tempered by concerns about the conditions they were kept in.
Palestinian prisoners were seen exhausted, malnourished and in some cases were left unrecognisable compared to their former selves before going into Israeli prisons.
Khalida Jarrar, a key figure in the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), left prison with her hair turned white after months of solitary confinement.
The 61-year-old, an MP, and prisoners’ rights advocate, had been held in administrative detention - a policy that allows Israeli authorities to hold individuals without charge or trial - since 26 December 2023.
In August she was moved to solitary confinement as a “form of punishment”, according to the Palestinian Prisoners Club, and held for six months in a one meter by 1.5-meter cell at Ayalon (Ramla) prison.
According to Palestinian politician Hanan Ashrawi, all of the prisoners released on Monday had endured "severe ill treatment including verbal and physical violence, deprivation and isolation."
"Israeli prisons are notorious for their abuse and torture of Palestinian prisoners. We rejoice at the release of our women and child captives, and look forward to the release of the remaining 11,000. Freedom is priceless," she added in a post on X.
Ablaa Sadaat, who was held in Ofer prison under administrative detention, told Middle East Eye that the living conditions in Israeli prisons were "absolutely inhumane".
"From the lack of food and medical care, to the treatment [of prisoners], it's horrible. They try to break the prisoners' sense of self, and make us feel like we're less than them and that they are above us and have authority over us... They try to break our sense of self and our pride," Sadaat said.
The former detainee, whose husband Ahmad Sadaat is still in Israeli detention, said this level of mistreatment has "never been seen during the entire history of [Palestine's] occupation."
"They used to spray gas inside the prison cells before they shackled and blindfolded us, and make us kneel in the prison courts," she said.
The Palestinian news outlet Arab48 reported that the days leading up to Monday were especially difficult for those released, noting that they were not aware they would be freed so soon.
Yasmine Abu Surur, one of the released detainees, said they were left completely isolated a week before the ceasefire agreement came into effect, with the prison administration rendering them cut off from the outside world.
"We have been without news for a week, and we do not know what is happening outside. Until Sunday morning, we were not sure that this was the day of freedom," she said.