Palestinian Prisoner’s Society

⭕ Israeli Occupation Turns October 7 Into Annual Day of Attacks on Palestinian Political Prisoners

⭕ Dozens of Detainees Wounded In Severe Physical Assault, Tear Gas and Rubber-Coated Bullets Inside their Cells

October 18, 2026 

Ramallah, occupied Palestine —The Israeli occupation’s prison system carried out dozens of attacks against Palestinian political prisoners on October 7, 2026 and in the days that followed, the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society said in a statement on Sunday. Occupation authorities turned the day into a scene of repression, with rubber-coated bullets fired at prisoners’ limbs, alongside the use of tear gas and other types of weapons from very close proximity, some of which caused burns to their bodies. 

The PPS confirmed that it had obtained a number of preliminary testimonies during visits conducted after October 7, 2026. It said these testimonies reflect the reality that has persisted for three years, since the beginning of the crime of genocide in the occupied Gaza Strip: systematic repression, starvation, denial of all forms of healthcare, and deliberate, ongoing efforts to humiliate and subjugate prisoners through a system of violence aimed at destroying them physically and psychologically.

The PPS noted that some prisoner sections were subjected to more than one attack on October 7, 2026. It highlighted in particular the section housing female prisoners at Damon Prison, where women prisoners were subjected to three repression operations on the same day. Their rooms were searched three times, and tear gas and stun grenades were used, causing many of them to suffer from suffocation.

According to the testimonies, the women prisoners were taken to the prison yard in handcuffs after being shouted at and insulted. They were forced to lie face down until the repression operation ended, and they were filmed throughout the process.

The women prisoners also reported that the prison administration placed a group of them in isolation because they had braided and styled their hair. They were forced to undo their braids, after which 15 female prisoners were transferred to isolation.

The repression did not end on October 7. On October 8, the women prisoners were subjected to further repression. Pepper spray was used against them, with the participation of the Yamam special forces unit. They were assaulted and pushed into the prison yard, where they were once again forced to lie face down. Extensive searches were also carried out in the cells. Repression forces deliberately threw mattresses onto the floor and scattered food scraps and rubbish over them.

Repression operations were broader in scale and more severe in the central prisons housing thousands of prisoners, including Ganot, Ofer, and Naqab prisons. In some sections, the targeting began as early as October 6. Dozens of prisoners were with by rubber-coated bullets, and several were subsequently transferred to hospitals.

The PPS also noted that the prison administration released a video showing the repression operations on October 7. This was one of dozens of videos published since the beginning of the genocide, particularly footage released by Israel’s so-called National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir. The PPS said he has turned the repression and abuse of prisoners, as well as incitement to kill them, into tools of political propaganda and an integral part of ongoing genocidal policies.