The health of anti-Israel activists who are on a hunger strike in United Kingdom prisons is deteriorating, according to British media reports on Saturday.
Sky News reported that 31-year-old Heba Muraisi — a member of the proscribed terrorist group Palestine Action — has been on a hunger strike for the past 69 days, with friends saying her health is quickly declining.
“I think she’s lost over 10 kilograms [22 pounds] now. She looks very different from the photographs that you’ll see of her,” Muraisi’s friend, Amareen Afzal, told Sky News after visiting her in prison on Tuesday.
“Her face is very gaunt, cheekbones are very prominent. She’s physically exhausted, very tired.”
Afzal added that Muraisi is suffering from headaches and lightheadedness and struggles to sleep on one side of her body.
“So she’s aware that she’s deteriorating and physically dying, you know, that her body could fail her at any moment,” Afzal continued. “I am obviously frightened for her and her life, I want her to be OK, but I’m incredibly proud of her and like completely in awe of her resilience.”
Protesters attend a ‘Lift The Ban’ demonstration in support of the proscribed group Palestine Action, calling for the recently imposed ban to be lifted, in Trafalgar Square, central London, on October 4, 2025. (Justin Tallis/AFP)
“I think that word can be a little bit overused, but I think there is something about her strength that comes from her commitment to her values. It is awe-inspiring to me.”
Francesca Nadin, a relative of Muraisi, was quoted by The Independent as saying: “It is really concerning. But mentally [Muraisi] is still strong and able to laugh and joke. We just don’t know when that deterioration will come.”
The Daily Mail, quoting an unnamed spokesman from Prisoners for Palestine, an offshoot of the now-banned Palestine Action, reported that Muraisi is struggling to breathe and has muscle spasms in one of her arms, indicating possible neurological damage.
Muraisi put out a statement when she began her hunger strike, calling UK Prime Minister Keith Starmer “pathetic” and vowing to “fight and to resist” from behind “steel walls and sensors,” according to The Daily Mail.
She ended her statement by saying, “Long live the intifada,” which is widely understood as a call for violence against Jews.
Another one of the hunger strikers, 28-year-old Kamran Ahmed, was admitted to the hospital on Tuesday because of heart issues after his hunger strike reached its 58th day, his sister told Sky News. He has reportedly lost 16 kilograms (35 pounds).
Lewie Chiaramello, 22, who is type 1 diabetic, has been fasting every other day.
According to The Daily Mail, the hunger strikers are only drinking water and a mix of electrolyte solutions to stabilize their blood pressure.
The hunger strikers say they will continue their hunger strike until Palestine Action is delisted as a terrorist organization, the UK ceases to provide Israel with arms, and they are provided bail or transferred to prisons closer to their homes.
The three are charged with breaking into the UK subsidiary of Israeli defense firm Elbit Systems in Bristol and into a Royal Air Force base in Oxfordshire. They deny the charges against them.
The government outlawed Palestine Action in July after the incident, which caused an estimated £7 million ($9.3 million) of damage at the RAF base.
Two of the protesters began their hunger strikes in early November, according to their supporters, with others joining in the following weeks.
The hunger strike was initially joined by eight anti-Israel detainees charged in the case, though for Muraisi, Ahmed and Chiarmello all the others resumed eating.
“Over the last five years, we’ve averaged over 200 [hunger strikes] a year and we have long-standing procedures in place to ensure prisoner safety,” UK Prison Minister James Timpson said.
He added that prison healthcare teams were closely monitoring the health of the hunger strikers and that claims that they were not being provided hospital care were “completely misleading.”
Protestors hold placards at a “Lift The Ban” demonstration in support of the proscribed group Palestine Action, calling for the recently imposed ban to be lifted, in Trafalgar Square, central London, on October 4, 2025. (Justin Tallis/AFP)
“These prisoners are charged with serious offenses, including aggravated burglary and criminal damage. Remand decisions are for independent judges, and lawyers can make representations to the court on behalf of their clients,” he said.
“Ministers will not meet with them — we have a justice system that is based on the separation of powers, and the independent judiciary is the cornerstone of our system. It would be entirely unconstitutional and inappropriate for ministers to intervene in ongoing legal cases.”
Asked about the hunger strikers in parliament last week, Starmer said “rules and procedures” were being followed.
The government’s Palestine Action ban — which makes being a member of the group or supporting it a serious criminal offense punishable by up to 14 years in prison — has resulted in at least 2,300 arrests of demonstrators, according to protest organizers Defend Our Juries.
According to London’s Met Police in late November, so far 254 out of the more than 2,000 arrested have been charged with a lesser offense, which carries a sentence of up to six months.
