Israeli prison guards shoot Palestinian prisoners with rubber bullets, leaving them severely injured: Report

Israeli prison guards shot Palestinian prisoners with rubber bullets, leaving one requiring the surgical removal of a testicle and another undergoing surgery for a fractured shin, Israel’s Haaretz daily reported Wednesday, citing medical records and testimonies. The newspaper said Physicians for Human Rights Israel and the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel had documented 21 shooting incidents across five Israeli prisons since October 2023. Most occurred in late 2025 and the first half of 2026, often at close range and without any preceding unrest, according to the testimonies. The rights groups said the ammunition appeared to consist of rubber or plastic projectiles. The most severe case involved a prisoner shot in the testicle at Ketziot Prison in southern Israel in June. Medical records from Soroka Hospital showed the organ had been completely destroyed, requiring its surgical removal. In testimony to his lawyer, the prisoner said guards had kicked him in the testicles during a strip search a week earlier, leaving him in severe pain. He said he was allowed to see a doctor only two days later. A week after the beating, members of the Israeli Prison Service’s Masada unit fired rubber bullets into his cell, striking him in the previously injured testicle and behind his right knee, according to his account. He said guards dragged him about 50 meters while he was bleeding heavily before he eventually received medical attention and was transferred to a hospital. In another case documented in July, a prisoner at Ketziot underwent surgery for a fractured left shin after being struck by a rubber bullet, according to prison medical records. A former inmate also told Haaretz he was shot at close range in April and denied adequate medical care for 15 days. He underwent surgery only after his release. The rights groups said shootings had occurred inside cells, in prison yards and even in areas where inmates waited to meet lawyers. In August, the organizations urged Israeli authorities to halt the use of such ammunition against prisoners, particularly at close range and in confined spaces, warning of potentially fatal injuries. The Israeli Prison Service rejected calls for a blanket ban, saying the use of what it described as less-lethal weapons was based on operational needs and threat assessments. Meirav Ben Zeev, a lawyer with the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, told Haaretz that prisoners were reluctant to report abuse for fear of retaliation, adding that complaints filed in recent years had not resulted in prosecutions. Around 9,350 Palestinians, including 350 children and 90 women, are being held in Israeli prisons, where Palestinian and Israeli rights groups have reported widespread torture, starvation and medical neglect, contributing to dozens of deaths in custody.