Palestinian prisoner Khalil Awawdeh hospitalised as hunger strike takes its toll

A Palestinian prisoner on hunger strike in an Israeli prison was hospitalised on Thursday, according to reports, after his health condition worsened.

Israeli authorities moved Khalil Awawdeh - who has been on a hunger strike protesting his administrative detention for 162 days -  into the Assaf Harofeh Hospital after his health deteriorated, Al Jazeera reported.

The 40-year-old father-of-four is being held without trial or charge, which Israel is able to do under their administrative detention policy that has been widely denounced by rights groups.

Israel has reportedly broken a ceasefire agreement with Islamic Jihad by not releasing the man

Awawdeh, who was detained in December last year and has been reportedly subject to abuse by prison authorities, is facing a "serious danger to his life", according to his lawyer Ahlam Haddad who told the Al Mayadeen news outlet he was "shocked" by Awawdeh's "extreme weakness".

A detained senior Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader, Bassam al-Saadi, who Israel accuses of orchestrating recent attacks in the region, may also begin a hunger strike if his detention continues, sources told Arabi 21. 

The 62-year-old, whose violent arrest triggered last week's escalation between Israel and the PIJ’s armed wing in Gaza, is suffering from "severe dizziness" and a pain in his hand "due to a dog bite" which he reportedly received during his arrest.

Three days of intense Israeli bombing in Gaza that killed at least 48 Palestinians including 15 children was brought to an end with an Egyptian-brokered truce between Israel and Islamic Jihad militants on Sunday night.

Senior Islamic Jihad member Mohammad al-Hindi said the deal contained "Egypt's commitment to work towards the release" of both al-Saadi and Awawdeh.

Palestinian prisoners often go on hunger strike to protest harsh conditions and illegal periods of detention in Israeli prisons, which are often indefinitely renewed.

Under Israel's administrative detention policy, Palestinian prisoners can be held without a definite release date based on "secretively-obtained evidence".