Tahrir Abu Madi has the death certificate of his daughter Malak. But the list of prisoners suggests that he may have been arrested. His son is also missing.
More than two years into Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, thousands of people remain missing as families suffer unverified deaths and questionable detention.
In a partially destroyed house in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza, Tahrir Abu Madi lives among burnt walls and repaired parts of the house, holding memories of her missing children.
His daughter, Malak, who was 20 at the time of her disappearance, was a university student and a volunteer nurse at Nasser Hospital – a young woman who, like many others, tried to help as the war engulfed the besieged area.
The family fled the bombing, displacing to the coastal area of ​​al-Mawasi. But when Israeli ground forces advanced toward Khan Yunis in 2024, Malak and his 18-year-old brother, Yusuf, returned home briefly to pick up their university books. He was never seen again.
When relatives finally reached the property, which was severely damaged during the invasion, forensic teams recovered human remains inside the blackened ruins. Based on those serious findings, Gaza’s Health Ministry issued a death certificate for Malak, but Yusuf’s fate remained unknown.
a cruel twist
Months later, a revelation reversed Tahrir’s mourning.
Recently released Palestinian detainees shared a list of prisoners held in Israeli custody. Malak Abu Madi was also included in the names. Next to its name were three troubling words: “No information available.”
“I haven’t heard anything from my children yet,” Tahrir said. “I struggle with anxiety and restless thoughts at night. Life has lost its flavor.”
Desperate for answers, Tahrir attempted to hire a lawyer based in the Palestinian-majority city of Umm al-Fahm in Israel to trace her daughter’s whereabouts within the Israeli prison system. However, she was unable to pursue the case due to exorbitant legal fees.
pattern of ambiguity
Human rights groups have warned that Malak’s case is not unique. During more than two years of the genocidal war, Israeli forces have detained thousands of Palestinians from Gaza, often holding them in undisclosed locations without charge or access to legal representation.
Maha al-Husseini, a researcher at the Euro-Med human rights monitor, said such cases reflect a broader pattern of detentions, unverified deaths and disappearances across the region.
“We estimate the number of forcibly disappeared people to be around 3,000,” al-Husseini said. “Most of them are unknown whether they died or were inside Israeli prisons, because the Israeli authorities refuse to provide any information regarding these people.”
Families are routinely left in a state of suspended grief, unable to properly bury their dead or care for their imprisoned relatives.
Now, Tahrir is caught between two tragic realities: an official government death certificate and a name on a smuggled prisoner list.
Once inside the house, after the fire is extinguished, she turns to the scarred walls to write a message: “We are still waiting for you, Malak…our girl in the white coat.”
