With so many people missing, many turn to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) for help. He takes detailed information and cross-checks it with sources he has access to, such as hospital lists and the names of returned detainees.
More than 8,300 cases were reported to the organization, but only about 2,100 were closed. Of these, only a small number led to family reunification.
“People are in limbo — they don’t know if a family member is alive, if they’re injured, if they’re in the hospital, if they’re trapped under the rubble, or if they’ll ever see them again,” says Sara Davies of the ICRC.
Doctors and hospital staff also play a role in trying to connect their patients with their loved ones.
Almost a year ago, the BBC filmed a newborn baby born by caesarean section after her mother was killed in an Israeli airstrike. Doctors called the girl “Hannah Abu Amsha’s daughter” and kept information about her in the hope that her relatives would be able to track her down.
The Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Hospital Kindergarten in Deir al-Balah recently reported that the child was eventually handed over to his father and is doing well.
A few days after Masri’s family was reunited, a local journalist working with the BBC visited Kawter and her grandchildren in the Al-Mawasi displaced persons camp, where they are now living in a tent. With aid in short supply, UNICEF helped them get additional food and medicine.
The girls also had warm jackets – some protection against the low temperatures that have led to the death of several children from hypothermia, including at a camp on the coast near the town of Khan Younis.
While Cowher is relieved that the children are with her, she still does not feel that they are safe. She is concerned about how to take care of them and their mental health.
“They are shocked,” she says. “No matter how hard we try to distract the girls and not talk about the war, every now and then they get lost in their thoughts.”
“When night comes, they are afraid. They say: “Here’s a plane, there’s a strike.” They ask me: “Is it dawn yet?” and only when the morning comes do they begin to feel calm.’
Kauter says she is desperate for a ceasefire and for her grandchildren to be able to rebuild their lives. To avoid becoming part of the lost generation.
