‘Tell us’: Gaza family trapped between hope and pain over missing brothers

A Family's Endless Search for Answers

Ashjan Abdel Aal's life has been suspended between grief and hope since her two sons, Othman and Sami, disappeared in Gaza City. The family has been searching for answers, but conflicting reports and uncertainty have made it difficult to confirm their fate.

The Abdel Aal family is one of the thousands to have been forced from their homes during Israel's genocidal war against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Ashjan, her husband, Rafaat, and their children found shelter at a relative's house in Gaza City in April last year, at a time when hunger, soaring prices, and shortages of basic items pushed many people to take risks searching for food.

On the day Othman and Sami left, Rafaat was away, heading towards United States-backed aid distribution sites near the Zikim area in northern Gaza. When he returned, his wife told him that the boys had not come back. Rafaat began searching hospitals, displacement shelters, and among relatives, but found no trace of his sons – since then, the boys' disappearance has turned the family's life into an endless search for answers.

The first potential lead came more than a month later. A resident of Shujayea told the family he had seen four bodies near their old home. Two had been identified, but the other two had not. Rafaat says the descriptions he received resembled his sons, but the family could not confirm whether the bodies were Sami and Othman.

Then, two days later came another painful message. A relative shared a photo of an unidentified body at al-Ahli Arab Hospital, saying it looked like Othman. Rafaat went to the hospital, but when he saw the body, it was not his son.

In October 2025, after Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas reached a 'ceasefire' deal, Rafaat was able to reach the area near their old home in Shujayea. He found only destruction. 'There was a piece of a missile, fragments, and a small bone remnant,' he says. But later, the family could no longer access the area since it fell behind the so-called Yellow Line demarcating Israeli control within Gaza.

The search continued through the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and human rights organisations, but no confirmed information was available. At times, Rafaat says, the uncertainty became unbearable. 'During many moments, because of the immense psychological pressure, I thought about going to the civil registry and requesting official death certificates for them,' he says. 'But even that was not possible because there were no witnesses or enough evidence confirming their deaths.'

Months later, in May, a new piece of information rekindled the family's hopes. Rafaat received a phone call from his wife's brother who had been helping him communicate with human rights groups, international institutions, and lawyers. 'He called me and told me that a lawyer from inside the 1948 areas, who presented herself as someone following missing persons' cases with human rights organisations and the Red Cross, had said that the boys were alive and in detention' in the Israeli prisons of Ofer and Naqab, says Rafaat.

The information, however, was never officially confirmed. The family tried contacting the lawyer again, but received no response. Al Jazeera also attempted to reach the lawyer, but the phone numbers provided by the family were not working.

'I am like a drowning person holding on to any straw,' says Ashjan. 'My heart tells me they are alive. I see them in my dreams coming to me and telling me not to worry.'

The family's story highlights the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where thousands of families have been forced to flee their homes due to conflict and poverty. The disappearance of Othman and Sami is a stark reminder of the risks and uncertainties faced by families in Gaza, and the need for international support and action to address the crisis.