Israeli Authorities Release Palestinian Journalist Ali Al-Samoudi After Year in Detention

A Palestinian journalist, Ali Samoudi—also spelled Ali al-Samoudi—was released from Israeli detention on Thursday evening after a year in custody, with multiple outlets describing severe physical deterioration and dramatic weight loss.

Anadolu Ajansı reported that Samoudi, 59, spoke to reporters after his release following a year of administrative detention, saying he lost nearly half his body weight during detention, dropping from 120 kilograms to around 60.

Agence Media Palestine

WAFA Agency similarly said Israeli occupation authorities released Palestinian journalist and detainee Ali Al-Sammoudi, 59, on Thursday evening following a year of arbitrary detention without charges or trial, and described the release as coming with “significantly altered physical features” and “severe weight loss attributed to systematic starvation practices.”

Al Jazeera نت described him as “almost unrecognizable,” saying the Israeli authorities released the Palestinian journalist known in the West Bank as Ali al-Samoudi, detained from his home in Jenin at the end of April 2025.

The same outlet quoted his first statement after release, saying Israeli prisons have turned into “a real hell and cemeteries for the living.”

TRT World also quoted him describing the prisons as “living graves,” adding that he said, “These prisons are a real hell and become cemeteries for the living.”

Across the accounts, the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society said he appeared “completely different” after months of abuse, repeated transfers, and denial of basic rights, with WAFA and Anadolu Ajansı both citing that characterization.

Samoudi’s accounts, as relayed by the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society and repeated by outlets, centered on starvation policies, harsh conditions, and repeated transfers during administrative detention.

Anadolu Ajansı said he attributed his weight loss to what he described as “starvation policies and dire conditions inside Israeli prisons,” and it reported that the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society said he was released in visibly deteriorated condition after “months of abuse, repeated transfers and denial of basic rights.”

Agence Media Palestine

TRT World quoted Samoudi saying, “The food is really bad and it's such small amounts it's not enough for a cat to survive on,” and it also quoted him describing “extremely harsh conditions” including “food shortages, poor-quality meals and the absence of basic necessities.”

Al Jazeera نت similarly said that in his testimony he explained that prisoners “suffer extremely harsh conditions, amid shortages of food and its poor quality, and the absence of the most basic life necessities,” and it added that he urged families of prisoners not to leave their children alone to face these conditions.

WAFA Agency said the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society cited “repeated abuse, torture, denial of basic rights, and frequent transfers accompanied by assaults during his detention,” framing the release as coming after “arbitrary detention without charges or trial.”

Sada News Agency’s account also described his release as coming after “repeated transfer operations accompanied by repeated assaults,” and it said the club stated he emerged “in a completely different state” due to “severe weight loss resulting from the systematic starvation crime.”

In the same set of reports, Samoudi urged families not to abandon detainees, with TRT World quoting him: “Do not abandon them. They are hungry for freedom and dignity,” and it also included his line, “I hope for freedom for the detainees and I ask their families to take care of them and to never abandon them.”

The release of Ali Samoudi was presented by the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society and the outlets as part of a broader detention picture involving thousands of Palestinians held under administrative detention and dozens of journalists still in custody.

Anadolu Ajansı said the Prisoners' Society reported Samoudi was among more than 3,530 Palestinians held under administrative detention, in addition to over 40 journalists still held in Israeli prisons, including four women.

WAFA Agency likewise said Al-Samoudi is among more than 3,530 administrative detainees currently imprisoned by Israel without charges or trial, as well as over 40 journalists, including four women, who remain in custody.

TRT World repeated the same scale, stating that Samoudi is among more than 3,530 Palestinians held under “so-called ‘administrative detention’,” and in addition to over 40 journalists still held in Israeli prisons, including four women.

Anadolu Ajansı also reported that more than 9,600 Palestinians remain in Israeli prisons, including women and children, facing torture, starvation and medical neglect, which have led to the deaths of dozens, according to Palestinian and Israeli rights groups.

Al Jazeera نت similarly said there are over 9,600 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons, including children and women, who suffer from torture, starvation, and medical neglect, leading to the deaths of dozens of them.

WAFA Agency added that the organization renewed its call for the immediate release of all detained journalists and called for the disclosure of the fate of journalists from Gaza who are being held under conditions of enforced disappearance.

Beyond Samoudi’s release, other reports described demonstrations in Gaza calling for the release of journalists and doctors held in Israeli prisons, and they linked the pressure to legal and humanitarian concerns.

عرب 48 reported that the Ministry of Health and the Media Forum organized two demonstrations west of Gaza City, with the first in front of the headquarters of the International Committee of the Red Cross and the second at the Al-Shifa Medical Complex, as part of activities commemorating Palestinian Prisoner Day observed on April 17 each year.

Anadolu Ajansı

At the first rally, participating journalists raised signs reading, among others, “Free the imprisoned journalists… let the truth breathe” and “Freedom for imprisoned journalists in the Israeli occupation’s prisons.”

عرب 48 quoted the director of the Palestinian Media Forum, Mohammed Yasin, saying the event came as “a renewal of the pledge to truth and a raising of the voice for imprisoned journalists who are subjected to various forms of physical and psychological torture inside Israeli prisons.”

The report also said the Government Information Office in Gaza announced on April 8 that the number of journalists killed by Israel since the start of the genocide had reached 262, following the death of Al Jazeera Mubasher correspondent Mohammed Wishah.

In the second rally, the Ministry of Health raised a sign reading that “362 of the medical staff had been detained during the war of extermination on Gaza,” and it said the ministry’s Director General Monir Al-Barsh stated that “more than 360 medical staff have been detained since the war began, and about 83 of them remain in custody.”

عرب 48 further stated that the Knesset passed the death penalty into law on March 30, amid celebrations by right-wing parties, and it included a warning that detained doctors face dangers inside Israeli prisons.

Other reporting tied the Gaza detention narrative to international pressure campaigns, including protests in France and calls for the release of a journalist detained in Israel after an intercepted yacht.

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Haaretz

Le HuffPost said protesters for Palestine gathered in France on Saturday, June 14 at the call of five unions, left-wing parties, and collectives advocating Palestinian rights to demand peace in Gaza and recognition of the State of Palestine, and it said the demonstrations highlighted the fate of Yanis Mhamdi, a journalist aboard the Madleen, still detained in Israel five days after his arrest by the authorities.

Haaretz

The outlet reported that, according to his media outlet, Blast, he is “locked in his cell, in Givon Prison, just like the two remaining crew members of the Flotilla, Pascal Mauriéras, French by nationality, and Marco Van Rennes, Dutch by nationality.”

Le HuffPost quoted Baptiste André, a doctor on the boat, saying, “Yanis was on board simply to do his job and, as he wrote from his Israeli jails, journalism is not a crime,” and it also quoted La France insoumise member Rima Hassan.

The same report said that in total, twelve people (six French, one German, one Brazilian, one Turkish, one Swedish, one Spanish, and one Dutch) were arrested Monday after Israel intercepted their yacht, the Madleen, in international waters, about 185 km from the Gaza coast.

It added that Yanis Mhamdi’s return, scheduled for Friday evening, was canceled due to Israel's massive attack on Iran since Thursday night to Friday and the subsequent closure of the Israeli airspace.

Separately, عرب 48 said Palestinian journalists and doctors in the Gaza Strip urged international and human rights institutions to take decisive action to secure the release of colleagues detained by Israel, warning of escalating abuses following the approval of a law allowing the execution of prisoners.