‘Back from the dead’: The continuing agony over Gaza’s 9,500 missing people
A Palestinian man’s sudden return alive after family held his funeral highlights the suffering of those still waiting for answers. Gaza — With thousands of
A Palestinian man’s sudden return alive after family held his funeral highlights the suffering of those still waiting for answers. Gaza — With thousands of families in Gaza yet to reconcile with the disappearances of their loved ones, the return of Hamada al-Banna alive has shocked the Palestinian enclave. Believing he had been killed in Israel’s genocidal war that began in 2023, al-Banna’s family held a wake for him nearly a year ago. His story underscores the suffering of thousands of families who still await the return of their loved ones – or any information about them. The Ministry of Health in Gaza says it has received nearly 3,500 reports of missing people while rights groups, including Gaza-based Al-Dameer, estimated the number of missing to be 9,500. Frantic search and a blast Al-Banna’s nightmare began during a desperate trip to find aid for his family near the Zikim crossing in northern Gaza, where he was separated from his brother Adham Yasser al-Banna in the enormous crowds. Adham was ultimately fatally shot by the Israeli army. “I was going home carrying a bag of flour. I was holding it, carrying it back, happy that I had managed to get it,” he said. “Then, suddenly, someone called me and said, ‘Your brother has been killed.'” Al-Banna had lost another brother, Amjad, only a month earlier.
He refused to believe he had suffered another loss. But after the caller swore it was true, he dropped the bag of flour and rushed to search for his sibling. “Suddenly, there was another huge explosion,” he said. “I was wounded in my legs, my hands, my chest and abdomen. My whole body was injured.” Al-Banna lost consciousness and woke up two months later from a coma at Israel’s Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba. He spent six months there, receiving treatment before being transferred to an Israeli prison, where he was held in solitary confinement for four months. “Of course, I saw torture and suffering. No matter how much I tell you, I won’t be able to describe what I went through,” he said. “For me, death felt better than remaining under the torture and suffering I was witnessing.” ‘Are you making fun of me?’ After a year in Israeli captivity, al-Banna was finally released about two weeks ago. During his absence, his fiancee, Reem Jadallah, never stopped searching for him, holding on to the possibility of his survival despite all indications pointing to his death. She sold her gold jewellery to hire a lawyer to track his case after failing to obtain official information regarding his whereabouts. After six months of searching, the lawyer informed the family that al-Banna had been killed.
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