‘Alive or dead?’: Gaza families trapped in information void about relatives

For thousands of Palestinian families in Gaza, the ongoing Israeli genocidal war is not just about the huge loss of life, utter destruction and relentless bombardment, but the agonising silence of missing loved ones swallowed by Israel’s detention system.

“We do not know if he is detained or a martyr,” the wife of Abdul Rahman, a young man who disappeared in January, told Al Jazeera. “We filled out many forms … but hope still exists.”

This psychological limbo was highlighted this week by the case of Hamza Adwan, a 67-year-old detainee whose family was informed of his death on Sunday – four months after he actually died in custody on September 9, 2025.

Adwan, a father of nine who had already lost two sons before the war, was arrested at a checkpoint on November 12, 2024. According to his family, he was detained despite suffering from serious health issues, including heart disease, and requiring constant medical care.

The delayed notification of his death is not an isolated incident. It reflects a systematic policy of “enforced disappearance” – creating a total void of information that the Commission of Detainees’ Affairs and the Palestinian Prisoner’s Society describe as an integral part of the ongoing “war of genocide”.

A system of uncertainty

In testimonies gathered by Al Jazeera, families described a chaotic reality where official information is often scarce or contradictory.

The father of Amro, a young man arrested in December 2024, lives in a cruel state of uncertainty. He was initially told by officials that his son had died in custody on December 13. However, released prisoners later reported seeing Amro alive after that date.

“We live on hope that he is alive and well,” the father said, despite fearing his son may have been subjected to “unimaginable torture”.

‘Legalising’ execution

The rights groups accused Israel of pursuing a policy of “slow execution” through starvation, medical neglect, and torture, aimed at making this “the deadliest phase in the history of the Palestinian prisoner movement”.

They warned that this surge in deaths coincides with Israeli political efforts to pass legislation approving the execution of Palestinian prisoners.

According to the groups, this move aims to “legalise” extrajudicial killings and transform them from actions taken outside the law into a “legitimate and codified policy”.

This legislative push targets a population where the vast majority are held without charge or trial.

By the numbers

The Commission and the Prisoner’s Society released alarming new statistics illustrating the scale of the crackdown. As of January 2026, the total number of Palestinians held in Israeli prisons has surpassed 9,300.

Most are legally in limbo, including:

• 3,385 administrative detainees, held indefinitely on secret evidence without trial.

• 1,237 detainees classified as “unlawful combatants”, a designation Israel uses to hold Palestinians from Gaza without granting them prisoner-of-war status or legal rights.

With the confirmation of Adwan’s death, the number of prisoners known to have died in Israeli custody since the war began has risen to 87, including 51 from Gaza.

ICRC denied access

Compounding the families’ distress is the paralysis of international monitors. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) confirmed to Al Jazeera that it remains completely barred from visiting Palestinian detainees.

“The ICRC has not been able to access detainees held in Israeli detention centres since October 2023,” Amani Al Naouq, the ICRC spokesperson in Gaza, told Al Jazeera.

“We are constantly receiving inquiries from families concerned about the health and safety of their loved ones,” she added.

Medics under fire

The crackdown has not spared those saving lives. On Monday, medical staff in Gaza held a protest demanding the release of 30 doctors and paramedics detained from Kamal Adwan Hospital alone.

Protesters held banners and photos of dozens of detained colleagues, prominently featuring Dr Hussam Abu Safia, the hospital director who was seized while treating patients.

“These heroes … were arrested outside the framework of international humanitarian law,” said Fares Afana, director of ambulance services. “The testimonies we hear from those released are beyond the comprehension of the human mind.”

Another medical representative at the rally warned of the lethal risks facing detainees, pointing to the fate of Dr Iyad al-Rantisi, the director of the maternity department at Kamal Adwan Hospital, who died under interrogation.

“Our colleagues have been subjected to kidnapping and torture … and even killing inside detention centres, just as happened with Dr al-Rantisi,” the representative said.