![A vehicle of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) arrives outside Ofer military prison, located between Ramallah and Beitunia in the occupied West Bank, on January 19, 2025. [Photo by JALAA MAREY/AFP via Getty Images]](https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/GettyImages-2194134693-1.jpg)
Israel prevented representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Wednesday from visiting hundreds of Palestinian detainees held in Israeli prisons, local media reported, Anadolu reports. Israel’s public broadcaster KAN said that Defense Minister Israel Katz signed an order to ban visits to Palestinian prisoners by Red Cross teams, claiming that the visits “endanger state security.” According to KAN, the order will apply to thousands of prisoners who are being held by the Israeli army as “unlawful combatants.” The term “unlawful combatant” refers to Palestinians detained from the Gaza Strip and its surroundings during Israel’s brutal offensive on the enclave since October 2023. The unlawful combatants legislation allows Israel to hold Palestinians indefinitely without evidence in open […]
