Autopsy Reveals Severe Malnutrition Killed Palestinian Teen in Israeli Prison

A 17-year-old Palestinian boy, Walid Khalid Ahmad, died in an Israeli prison after enduring severe malnutrition and medical neglect, according to an autopsy report conducted by an Israeli pathologist.

The findings, which describe “extreme, likely prolonged malnutrition,” mark the first death of a Palestinian minor in Israeli custody since the October 2023 escalation of hostilities, with rights groups calling it a systemic failure and potential war crime.

The autopsy, performed at Tel Aviv’s Abu Kabir Forensic Institute, revealed critical muscle and fat wasting across Walid’s body, including sunken abdominal tissue and near-total absence of subcutaneous fat.

The report noted that malnutrition likely left him vulnerable to life-threatening infections, compounded by untreated scabies and colitis. Independent medical observers, including Dr. Daniel Solomon, who reviewed the findings, emphasized starvation as the probable primary cause of death.

Additional evidence of chest and abdominal trauma suggested physical abuse during detention.

Walid was seized during a 3:30 a.m. raid on his home in Silwad, occupied West Bank, on September 30, 2024. Israeli authorities accused him of stone-throwing and Molotov cocktail attacks dating to 2020–2023—allegations his family vehemently denies.

Despite six months in pre-trial detention at Megiddo Prison, he was never formally charged, with court hearings repeatedly delayed. The Palestinian Prisoners’ Society (PPS) condemned his detention as part of a broader pattern of arbitrary arrests targeting minors.

Defense for Children International-Palestine (DCIP) documented Walid’s rapid physical decline, citing meager food rations, overcrowded cells, and denial of medical care.

Fellow detainees reported that guards ignored pleas for help as Walid collapsed on March 22, forcing children to carry him to prison staff.

His death follows at least 63 Palestinian detainee fatalities since October 2023, with over 15,700 arrests in the West Bank during the same period.

Rights organizations and medical experts describe Walid’s death as a direct consequence of Israel’s punitive detention practices, which include transferring Palestinians to prisons inside Israel—a violation of international law.

DCIP’s Ayed Abu Eqtaish accused Israeli authorities of “systematic starvation and abuse,” urging immediate international intervention. The Israeli Prison Service stated an investigation is underway but has yet to release findings or return Walid’s body to his family.

Khalid Ahmad remembered his son as a healthy, soccer-loving teenager before his arrest. “They took a boy full of life and returned him a corpse,” he said, condemning the lack of accountability.

The PPS and Palestinian Commission of Detainees’ Affairs labeled Walid’s death a stark example of Israel’s “horrific abuse” of detainees, emphasizing the urgent need for global action to end systemic violations.