Gaza family learns missing son is alive in Israeli prison

A Palestinian family in Gaza has learned that their missing son, Eid Nael Abu Shaar, is alive and being held in Ofer Prison in Israel.

The confirmation came after 18 months in which the family believed he had died.

According to the supplied account, Abu Shaar disappeared on 15 December 2024 while looking for work near central Gaza's Netzarim Corridor.

His family later searched morgues and hospitals, obtained a death certificate and opened a mourning tent.

The breakthrough came when a lawyer phoned to say he was detained in Ofer Prison.

The family had also contacted the International Committee of the Red Cross and human rights groups during the search, but had received no clear information before the call.

The case matters because it points to the wider uncertainty facing many families in Gaza who still do not know whether missing relatives are dead, buried in unidentified graves or held in detention.

The report says thousands of families remain in that position.

Abu Shaar's father said he had spent nights at morgues and hospitals looking for any trace of his son.

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