A mother's desperate search for her missing son is part of a larger story of thousands of Palestinians still unaccounted for in Gaza after the recent war. According to Hamas-run health ministry figures considered reliable by the UN, over 73,000 people have been killed since Israel launched its military campaign, including around 1,200 since the ceasefire last October. The Red Cross reports receiving more than 5,000 requests to trace missing people who could be buried under rubble, with some estimates suggesting there may be as many as 8,000 missing individuals. The article highlights the challenges of recovering and identifying bodies due to destruction and Israeli restrictions on what can enter Gaza.
Written by the local model on 2026-08-19,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
- Published
Ahmed al Madhoun looked like a man who, despite the hardship, loved life.
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who → publish → life
From her partially destroyed home in Gaza City, his mother Majdiya shows us videos of him on her phone.
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mother → destroy → phone
In one, Ahmed is cuddling a kitten.
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Ahmed → cuddle → kitten
He sticks out his tongue and squeals with glee.
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He → stick → glee
In another, he belly flops into a swimming pool, before emerging from the water grinning from ear to ear.
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he → flop → ear
"Everyone was his friend," Majdiya tells the BBC.
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Majdiya → tell → BBC
"He was loved wherever he went, and he always had a smile on his face.
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he → love → face
But Ahmed, who has Down's syndrome, is missing.
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who → have → syndrome
The 21-year-old disappeared in May 2025 after popping to the local shop.
uncertain
old → disappear → shop
At the time, the war in Gaza between Hamas and Israel was raging.
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war → rag → Hamas
That day there were Israeli strikes in the area, and Majdiya fears her son is dead.
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son → be → area
But she doesn't know for certain.
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she → know → ?
"My God, I am not at peace," she says.
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she → say → peace
"I have not lost hope but whether they find him alive or dead, buried under the rubble, only then will I be at peace.
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I → lose → peace
Pain like Majdiya's is felt by mothers all over Gaza.
More than 73,000 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched its military campaign, including about 1,200 since a ceasefire was announced last October, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry - figures considered reliable by the UN.
Israeli media reported in January that a senior Israeli security source said the military accepts the figures are accurate.
uncertain
figures → feel → January
The health ministry's death toll doesn't count bodies buried under the rubble, meaning many of the missing are not part of the count.
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many → count → count
The Red Cross says it has received more than 5,000 requests to trace missing people who could be buried amid the destruction.
uncertain
who → say → destruction
The Civil Defence agency in Gaza believes the number of missing people is over 8,000.
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number → believe → 8,000
Bodies are being discovered on a daily basis.
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Bodies → discover → basis
Earlier this month, a mass funeral took place in Gaza City for more than a hundred people killed in an Israeli attack in 2023.
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funeral → take → 2023
Their remains were only recently recovered and identified, allowing them to be laid to rest.
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them → recover → rest
The Red Cross says recovering bodies is difficult given the scale of the destruction and a lack of bulldozers.
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recovering → say → bulldozers
In many cases, identifying the remains is also challenging when people have been dead for so long and with a lack of DNA testing, due to Israeli restrictions on what can enter Gaza.
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what → identify → Gaza
Ahmed al Madhoun's family knows he may well have been killed - but they also fear he may have been detained by Israeli security forces.
uncertain
he → know → forces
Over almost three years of war, Israeli forces have detained approximately 7,000 Palestinians from Gaza, more than 5,000 of whom were later released without ever being charged, according to the Israel-based Public Committee Against Torture, external.
uncertain
5,000 → detain → Torture
As of this month, around 1,300 detainees from Gaza were being held in Israeli jails without charge or trial, according to the Israeli human rights group HaMoked.
uncertain
detainees → hold → group
The group says these figures do not include Gaza detainees held directly by the Israeli military.
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figures → say → military
Palestinian families have frequently not been notified by Israel of the arrest or whereabouts of their relatives, according to HaMoked and other rights groups - forcing many to rely on NGOs and lawyers to help track them down.
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families → notify → them
The BBC has asked the IDF and Israel Prison Service (IPS) about their reported failure to contact relatives of those they have detained.
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they → ask → those
Israeli authorities have previously said prolonged detentions were due to wartime security grounds and rejected claims that detentions are arbitrary.
uncertain
detentions → say → claims
Aida al Drimli from the Sabra district of Gaza City, shows us a picture of her son, Mahmoud, a fresh-faced young man draped in a Palestinian scarf.
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Drimli → show → scarf
"He was a calm well-mannered young man," Aida says.
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Aida → say → ?
"He loved everyone and everyone loved him."
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everyone → love → him
Mahmoud disappeared in 2024.
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Mahmoud → disappear → 2024
His family feared he had been killed in an Israeli attack.
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he → fear → attack
"His father would go to the hospitals and look at the bodies," Aida tells us.
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Aida → go → us
"But I couldn't face it.
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I → face → it
I was completely devastated.
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I → devastate → ?
But then this summer a photo emerged on social media showing two Israeli soldiers posing with a Palestinian detainee, blindfolded and bound.
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soldiers → emerge → detainee
From his features, from his forehead, his mouth, his nose, the way he sits, the way he closes his mouth, his hands, his legs from below.
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he → sit → legs
…and 20 more, not listed.
