Families' agonising search for answers as thousands still missing in Gaza
Families in Gaza are struggling to locate thousands of missing individuals, including those buried under rubble following ongoing military strikes. Official death tolls are believed to be undercounts as they often exclude those missing or trapped beneath destroyed infrastructure.
Why it matters
The high number of missing persons underscores the humanitarian crisis and the difficulty of accurately assessing the human cost of the conflict in Gaza.
Image source, al Madhoun family Image caption, Ahmed al Madhoun, who has Down's syndrome, has been missing since May 2025
Ahmed al Madhoun looked like a man who, despite the hardship, loved life. A cheeky, chunky little fellow with an exuberant smile.
From her partially destroyed home in Gaza City, his mother Majdiya shows us videos of him on her phone.
In one, Ahmed is cuddling a kitten. He sticks out his tongue and squeals with glee. In another, he belly flops into a swimming pool, before emerging from the water grinning from ear to ear.
"Everyone was his friend," Majdiya tells the BBC. "He was loved wherever he went, and he always had a smile on his face."
But Ahmed, who has Down's syndrome, is missing. The 21-year-old disappeared in May 2025 after popping to the local shop.
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