Palestinian child unconscious, faces possible foot amputation after Israeli detention: NGO

A Palestinian child remains unconscious and on a ventilator after suffering torture and medical neglect during his detention in an Israeli prison, with his right foot at risk of amputation, a prisoners’ rights group said Sunday.

The Palestinian Prisoner Society said in a statement that Mohammed Hmeid, 16, from the town of Tuqu’ in the southern West Bank province of Bethlehem, was detained by Israeli forces on Feb. 25, 2026.

He was held in the juvenile section of Ofer Prison near Ramallah, the nongovernmental group said.

Hmeid was subjected to “harsh detention conditions that included torture, abuse, starvation and denial of treatment,” it said, adding that his family was prevented from visiting him and the International Committee of the Red Cross was barred from visiting Palestinian prisoners.

The group said Hmeid contracted scabies in April but was denied the necessary treatment by the prison administration, causing his condition to worsen and resulting in severe skin infections.

He later developed a high fever and was taken to the prison clinic, where preliminary examinations indicated a severe urinary tract infection and elevated blood sugar levels, according to the statement.

“On July 20, the child was transferred to the Israeli Shaare Zedek hospital after the Ramla Prison clinic refused to admit him because he had scabies,” the group said.

It added that Israeli authorities returned him to Ofer Prison less than 12 hours later “despite his serious health condition” and kept him there for four days while he received antibiotics without improvement.