A Gaza mother waits in agony: Did Israel kill her daughter, or arrest her?

Tahrir Abu Mady has her daughter Malak’s death certificate. But a list of prisoners suggests she might have been arrested. Her son is also missing.More than two years into Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, thousands remain missing as families endure the agony of unverified deaths and shadowy detentions.In a partially destroyed home in southern Gaza’s Khan Younis, Tahrir Abu Mady lives among the charred walls and repaired sections of a house that hold the memories of her missing children.Her daughter, Malak, who was 20 when she went missing, was a university student and a volunteer nurse at Nasser Hospital — a young woman who, like many others, tried to help as the war engulfed the besieged enclave.Displaced to the coastal area of al-Mawasi, the family fled the bombardment. But when Israeli ground forces advanced into Khan Younis in 2024, Malak and her 18-year-old brother, Yousef, briefly returned home to retrieve her university books. They were never seen again.When relatives finally reached the property, severely damaged during the invasion, forensic teams recovered human remains inside the blackened ruins. Based on those grim findings, Gaza’s Ministry of Health issued a death certificate for Malak, but Yousef’s fate remained unknown.A cruel twistMonths later, a revelation upended Tahrir’s mourning.Recently released Palestinian detainees shared a list of prisoners held in Israeli custody. Among the names was Malak Abu Mady. Next to her name were three disturbing words: “No information available.”“I haven’t heard from my kids so far,” Tahrir said. “I struggle with anxiety and restless thoughts at night. Life has lost its taste.”