On October 5, 2024, the Israeli army launched a large-scale military operation in northern Gaza, targeting densely populated civilian areas. The assault resulted in a high number of martyrs and injuries, as well as the arrest of hundreds of civilians — among them Samir Mahmoud Mohammed Al-Kahlout, 53, who was severely injured on October 16, 2024, during the bombing of the Jabalia refugee camp.
Al-Kahlout was transferred to Kamal Adwan Hospital, where he underwent surgery that required the removal of one of his kidneys due to the critical nature of his injuries.
On October 26, 2024, Israeli forces stormed Kamal Adwan Hospital and arrested several wounded patients, including Al-Kahlout, despite his fragile medical condition. According to his son, Hossam, he was taken away in a military vehicle to an undisclosed location inside Israeli territory, while other detainees were transported in a separate vehicle. From that moment, the family lost all contact with him and received no information about his condition or whereabouts.
In early November 2024, the family reached out to the Israeli human rights organization HaMoked, which follows up on detainee cases, seeking information about Samir’s fate. HaMoked replied that it would respond once any details became available. Then, on December 24, 2024, the organization informed the family that Samir Al-Kahlout had died in prison on November 3, 2024. Following this notice, the family held a funeral and received condolences for his reported death.
However, new developments emerged nearly a year later, following the prisoner exchange deal of October 2025, when several released prisoners contacted the family and confirmed that Samir’s name had been mentioned inside Ofer Prison, raising serious doubts about the truth of his reported death. Moreover, a family member who was freed as part of the same deal stated that he had personally seen Samir Al-Kahlout alive inside Sde Teiman Prison on April 11, 2025, in a deteriorating health condition — confirming that the earlier claim of his death was false and that he remains alive in Israeli detention.
Following these testimonies, the family reconnected with HaMoked and several local and international human rights organizations, submitting the new evidence that proves Samir’s continued detention. The official Israeli response, however, denied the existence of any prisoner under his name in their records — a clear indication that the Israeli authorities are committing a crime of enforced disappearance against him. Samir was arrested despite his critical medical state, deprived of contact with his family, denied medical follow-up, and falsely reported dead — all of which constitute a grave violation of international law.
The case of Samir Al-Kahlout stands as a painful example of enforced disappearance perpetrated by the Israeli occupation against Palestinians, in blatant violation of international humanitarian law, particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention and the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (2006). Such acts demand accountability and justice before international courts.
The Palestinian Center for Missing and Forcibly Disappeared Persons affirms that Samir Al-Kahlout’s fate remains unknown to this day. The Center holds the Israeli authorities fully responsible for his safety, calling for the immediate disclosure of his whereabouts and urging international bodies to be granted access to verify his condition. The Center further calls on the International Committee of the Red Cross, the United Nations, and human rights organizations to intervene urgently to stop these violations, hold the perpetrators accountable, and ensure that such crimes are never repeated against the Palestinian people amid the alarming international silence.
