RAMALLAH, July 30, 2026 (WAFA) — The Palestinian Prisoner's Society on Thursday held Israeli authorities and the Israel Prison Service fully responsible for the condition of detained Palestinian child Mohammad Mousa Suleiman Hmeid, 15, from Bethlehem, following a serious deterioration in his health and his undergoing open-heart surgery at Israel's Shaare Zedek Medical Center without his family being allowed to visit him.
In a statement, the society said Hmeid, who has been detained since February 2026 and remains in pretrial detention, had been held at Ofer Prison before being transferred to hospital. It added that his family has only been able to obtain updates on his condition through legal and human rights organisations and his lawyer.
According to the statement, Hmeid had no known health problems before his detention. His family said they were informed by a human rights organisation that he would undergo surgery, adding that available information indicates his condition remains critical and that he requires intensive medical care.
The society also said that detained Palestinian Malek Hani Jibril, 30, from Bethlehem, underwent surgery that resulted in the amputation of his right leg after he was shot by Israeli forces near the so-called Checkpoint 300 earlier this month and subsequently arrested while wounded.
The organisation held Israeli authorities responsible for the deterioration of Jibril's condition that led to the amputation while he remained in custody.
The Palestinian Prisoner's Society said the cases of Hmeid and Jibril reflect the situation faced by thousands of Palestinian detainees. It warned that limb amputations have become one of the most serious issues affecting wounded prisoners, particularly those who were shot before being detained.
The organisation added that Israeli authorities continue to deny sick and wounded prisoners adequate medical treatment while subjecting them to medical neglect, starvation and abuse, leading to the spread of illness and injuries among detainees.
It said prison conditions have caused many detainees, including those who were healthy before their arrest, to develop a range of health problems as a result of what it described as torture, abuse and deprivation.
The society renewed its call on the international community, the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross to take urgent action to ensure Palestinian prisoners, particularly the sick and wounded, receive necessary medical care and to end the systematic medical abuses in Israeli prisons.
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