Israel’s Supreme Court has ruled that the state must provide adequate food to Palestinian prisoners, citing a legal obligation to ensure a “basic level of existence.” The decision comes amid long-standing concerns over prison conditions, with human rights groups reporting that changes in food policies have led to malnutrition and starvation, according to BBC.

Thousands of Palestinians remain detained in Israeli prisons, including those held on terror charges and others arrested since the conflict in Gaza began in October 2023. Palestinian detainees released earlier have described mistreatment and torture by Israeli military and prison staff.

The ruling was criticized by Israel’s Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, who argued that Israeli hostages in Gaza lack similar protections and vowed to maintain the “minimum conditions required by law” for imprisoned terrorists. Human rights groups, including the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, called for immediate implementation of the court’s verdict, BBC reported.