For first time since Oct. 7, Red Cross confirms it received list of Palestinians in Israeli detention facilities

By Nurit Yohanan

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Today, 2:29 pm

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Nurit Yohanan is The Times of Israel's Palestinian and Arab world correspondent

Hamas Nukhba Battalion terrorists captured during the October 7 massacre are seen in a jail cell at a prison in central Israel, where high-risk Hamas prisoners captured during the recent war are being held, February 17, 2026. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) tells The Times of Israel that it “recently received from the Israeli authorities a list of names of people held in Israeli detention facilities,” referring to Palestinian detainees from the West Bank and Gaza, including those arrested during the war in the Strip.

“Our teams are in contact with the detainees’ families and are updating them on the matter. We will continue to update families if additional information becomes available in the future,” the ICRC says.

The Times of Israel has learned that this is the first time since the October 7 massacre and the outbreak of the war that Israel has provided the Red Cross with complete information about Gazan detainees held in Israel.

For decades, the Red Cross received lists of Palestinians held in Israeli custody and conducted regular visits to prisons. Following the October 7 massacre, Israel halted both practices.

In 2024, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, Physicians for Human Rights Israel, HaMoked: Center for the Defence of the Individual, and Gisha petitioned the High Court of Justice, demanding that the procedures be reinstated.

In June 2026, the High Court ruled in favor of the petition. However, the ICRC confirmed to The Times of Israel that prison visits have not yet resumed.

“We are continuing our dialogue with the authorities with the aim of resuming prison visits, in accordance with the ICRC’s standard working procedures,” the organization tells The Times of Israel. “We hope to be able to resume the visits soon, but that has not yet happened.”