Children of Palestine in detention.. What is their number and what are the conditions of their detention?

On this day, November 20, every year, World Children's Day returns to reopen the wounds of Palestinians by highlighting the file of Israeli occupation violations against their children, especially those who suffer torment without trial in its prisons.

According to the Palestinian Prisoners Club and prisoner institutions, as of November 5 of this year, the Israeli occupation is currently detaining about 350 children, most of whom are without trial, isolating them from the world under harsh conditions.

The director of the Accountability Program at the Global Movement for the Defense of Children in Palestine, Aaid Abu Qteish, pointed out that 48% of child prisoners are held administratively, and only about 20 of them have received varying prison sentences.

Administrative detention is defined as detention without charge or trial, relying on a secret file and secret evidence that the detainee or their lawyer cannot access.

Abu Qteish indicates that the percentage of administratively detained children before October 2023 did not exceed 2%, but today they number in the dozens according to what the Israeli Prison Service publishes.

According to data from Palestinian prisoner institutions, the total number of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons is about 9,250, including approximately 3,360 administrative detainees.

In the context of the genocide war on Gaza, the occupation army detained 1,630 children in the West Bank, where various forms of torture against children continued after that date.

Child prisoners are completely isolated from the outside world, with no family visits, no means of communication, and no televisions or radios.

A large number of prisoners who were arrested as children have reached adulthood in prison and have been transferred to adult prisons, some of whom have been sentenced to life imprisonment.

The majority of the charges against child prisoners today are 'incitement' through posts or shares on social media.

The military orders in effect in the West Bank allow for the detention of children aged 14 to 18 for up to 48 hours without presenting them to a judge.

Human rights organizations have documented other violations against children, including physical assault during arrest and interrogation.

The number of Palestinian child martyrs has reached 2,507 since the year 2000, of whom 139 were killed by the occupation in the West Bank in 2024 and 2025.

In Gaza, UNICEF data indicates that more than 64,000 children have been killed or injured, and more than 58,000 children have lost one or both parents.