She was told her missing fiance was killed in Gaza. A year later, he returned alive

What Happened

Hamada al-Banna, a 23-year-old Palestinian man from northern Gaza, was released from Israeli detention after being forcibly disappeared for approximately one year. On 9 August 2025, al-Banna and his brother went to the Zikim area in northern Gaza to collect flour from humanitarian aid trucks; his brother was killed. Al-Banna was wounded by an Israeli shell, leaving him unconscious with leg and chest injuries. He spent six months in a coma at Israel's Soroka Hospital with memory loss. Once conscious, he threw an IV bag at a soldier who insulted his mother, and the soldier violently assaulted him. He was then transferred to Sde Teiman prison, where he endured four months of solitary confinement and torture, including beatings, pepper spraying, genital attacks, stun grenades, and six days in a 'disco room' — a space of constant loud noise and music causing sleep deprivation and psychological distress. His family was informed by Israeli authorities that he had been killed under torture. His fiancée, Reem Jadallah, refused to believe it, sold her gold to hire a lawyer through the Israeli legal aid organisation HaMoked, and eventually obtained confirmation of his detention. Al-Banna was released on Sunday and recounted his ordeal to Middle East Eye.

Key Actors

Why It Matters

Al-Banna's case exemplifies the practice of enforced disappearance, secret detention, and torture of Palestinian civilians by Israeli forces during the Gaza war, as documented by Palestinian and Israeli rights groups. The withholding of detainee information from families and international bodies like the ICRC violates international humanitarian law, fuels Palestinian grievances, and raises accountability concerns. The use of Israeli legal NGOs to bypass obstruction highlights structural barriers to due process.

Watch For

Potential statements from the UN or ICRC regarding access to Palestinian detainees in Israeli custody. Possible Israeli military or prison service response to al-Banna's torture allegations. Updates from the Palestinian Centre for the Missing and the Forcibly Disappeared on the fate of the approximately 8,000 Palestinians reported missing in Gaza, including roughly 2,900 children, many presumed dead under rubble or secretly detained.