Image source, al Madhoun family
Ahmed al Madhoun, who has Down's syndrome, has been missing since May 2025
ByJon Donnison
Reporting fromJerusalem
Ahmed al Madhoun looked similar a antheral who, contempt the hardship, loved life. A cheeky, chunky small chap with an exuberant smile.
From her partially destroyed location successful Gaza City, his parent Majdiya shows america videos of him connected her phone.
In one, Ahmed is cuddling a kitten. He sticks retired his lingua and squeals with glee. In another, helium belly flops into a swimming pool, earlier emerging from the h2o grinning from receptor to ear.
"Everyone was his friend," Majdiya tells the BBC. "He was loved wherever helium went, and helium ever had a grin connected his face."
But Ahmed, who has Down's syndrome, is missing. The 21-year-old disappeared successful May 2025 aft popping to the section shop.
At the time, the warfare successful Gaza betwixt Hamas and Israel was raging.
That time determination were Israeli strikes successful the area, and Majdiya fears her lad is dead. But she doesn't cognize for certain.
"My God, I americium not astatine peace," she says. "I person not mislaid anticipation but whether they find him live oregon dead, buried nether the rubble, lone past volition I beryllium astatine peace."
Image source, Al Madoun family
Pain similar Majdiya's is felt by mothers each implicit Gaza.
More than 73,000 radical person been killed successful Gaza since Israel launched its subject campaign, including astir 1,200 since a ceasefire was announced past October, according to the territory's Hamas-run wellness ministry - figures considered reliable by the UN.
Israeli media reported successful January that a elder Israeli information root said the subject accepts the figures are accurate.
But the existent fig of dormant Palestinians could beryllium importantly higher. The wellness ministry's decease toll doesn't number bodies buried nether the rubble, meaning galore of the missing are not portion of the count.
The Red Cross says it has received much than 5,000 requests to hint missing radical who could beryllium buried amid the destruction. The Civil Defence bureau successful Gaza believes the fig of missing radical is implicit 8,000.
Bodies are being discovered connected a regular basis.
Earlier this month, a wide ceremonial took spot successful Gaza City for much than a 100 radical killed successful an Israeli onslaught successful 2023. Their remains were lone precocious recovered and identified, allowing them to beryllium laid to rest.
The Red Cross says recovering bodies is hard fixed the standard of the demolition and a deficiency of bulldozers.
In galore cases, identifying the remains is besides challenging erstwhile radical person been dormant for truthful agelong and with a deficiency of DNA testing, owed to Israeli restrictions connected what tin participate Gaza.
Ahmed al Madhoun's household knows helium whitethorn good person been killed - but they besides fearfulness helium whitethorn person been detained by Israeli information forces.
Majdiya al Madhoun has been searching for her lad for much than a year
Over astir 3 years of war, Israeli forces person detained astir 7,000 Palestinians from Gaza, much than 5,000 of whom were aboriginal released without ever being charged, according to the Israel-based Public Committee Against Torture, external.
As of this month, astir 1,300 detainees from Gaza were being held successful Israeli jails without complaint oregon trial, according to the Israeli quality rights radical HaMoked. The radical says these figures bash not see Gaza detainees held straight by the Israeli military.
Palestinian families person often not been notified by Israel of the apprehension oregon whereabouts of their relatives, according to HaMoked and different rights groups - forcing galore to trust connected NGOs and lawyers to assistance way them down.
The BBC has asked the IDF and Israel Prison Service (IPS) astir their reported nonaccomplishment to interaction relatives of those they person detained.
Israeli authorities person antecedently said prolonged detentions were owed to wartime information grounds and rejected claims that detentions are arbitrary.
Aida al Drimli from the Sabra territory of Gaza City, shows america a representation of her son, Mahmoud, a fresh-faced young antheral draped successful a Palestinian scarf.
Aida al Drimli has been searching for her lad since 2024
"He was a calm well-mannered young man," Aida says. "He loved everyone and everyone loved him."
Mahmoud disappeared successful 2024. His household feared helium had been killed successful an Israeli attack.
"His begetter would spell to the hospitals and look astatine the bodies," Aida tells us. "But I couldn't look it. I was wholly devastated."
But past this summertime a photograph emerged connected societal media showing 2 Israeli soldiers posing with a Palestinian detainee, blindfolded and bound.
Aida is definite it's Mahmoud.
"From his features, from his forehead, his mouth, his nose, the mode helium sits, the mode helium closes his mouth, his hands, his legs from below. He has the nonstop aforesaid features arsenic my son," she says.
Image source, Social media
Aida al Drimli believes this photograph shows her son
But with lone a azygous photograph she knows she can't beryllium sure.
"When my hubby sat down and showed maine the photo, I was relieved," she says. "But astatine the aforesaid time, I was precise upset and my bosom was breached erstwhile I saw my lad looking similar that. It was humiliating."
Both the al Drimli and the al Madoun household accidental neither they nor their sons person immoderate affiliation with Hamas oregon immoderate of the militant groups successful Gaza.
The BBC asked the IPS astir some men. They said they had nary grounds of holding either of them.
We enactment the aforesaid question to the Israeli subject which besides runs detention centres and prisons, but it did not springiness a response.
Israel does not let planetary journalists, including the BBC, autarkic entree to Gaza.
The Al Drimli household has asked the Red Cross to effort to find retired if Mahmoud has been detained. But Israel does not let the Red Cross entree to its situation records.
Tal Steiner, an Israeli lawyer who works to find Palestinians who whitethorn person been detained by Israel, told the BBC "Oct 7th changed everything".
"The prohibition connected the International Red Cross [visiting prisons] and the information that the ICRC itself holds nary lists of radical held by Israel means we person to hint them individually 1 by one, per petition by their families. It's a large strain connected the quality to find those people, today."
She besides says for the families, it's the not knowing that is the hardest.
"It's an unfastened wound. It doesn't heal. They person nary remainder not adjacent knowing if their comparative is dormant oregon alive," she tells us.
And she says implicit the past 3 years Israel has made it overmuch much hard to hint imaginable Palestinian detainees.
"To those not knowing wherever their household members are, that truly adds insult to injury. It's a precise hard intelligence concern that tin beryllium carried for months and years."
English (US)·