Ramallah, April 3, 2025—The autopsy report for a 17-year-old Palestinian child detainee who died in Israeli custody at the end of March indicates that he likely died from a combination of starvation, dehydration from colitis-induced diarrhea, and infectious complications all compounded by prolonged malnutrition and denial of life saving medical intervention.
Walid Khalid Abdullah Ahmad, 17, died while held in Israeli custody in Megiddo prison in northern Israel on the morning of March 22 after collapsing in the prison yard, according to documentation collected by Defense for Children International - Palestine. Post-mortem examination indicates Walid suffered from extreme body muscle and fat wasting, evidenced by a sunken abdomen, according to a doctor who attended the autopsy on behalf of Walid’s family.
Walid also had scabies rashes on both legs and his groin, in addition to abrasions on his nose, chest, and right hip. The examination revealed that Walid had significant air collections in both his chest and abdominal cavities likely caused by blunt trauma, along with signs of inflammation likely caused by infection. There was also evidence of edema and congestion in his large intestine, consistent with traumatic injury—likely the result of beatings, which are frequently inflicted by Israeli prison guards on Palestinian child detainees.