Israeli prison guards ‘shot prominent Palestinian detainees nine times’

Palestinian detainee Hassan Salameh was reportedly beaten and shot nine times by Israeli prison guards last month, according to his fiancée and the Palestinian Prisoners’ Society (PPS). The allegations followed a visit to Salameh’s cell by National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who had previously filmed himself threatening to have him executed.

The ammunition and precise circumstances of the shooting remain unclear, and restrictions on prison visits have limited efforts to establish more details. Salameh’s fiancée said he was returned to his cell with only painkillers and remained in poor health when a lawyer saw him on Monday. Salameh, 55, is serving 48 life terms after being convicted by Israel in 1996 of organising bombings; rights groups say reports of abuse in Israeli prisons have increased since the Gaza war began in October 2023.