jake.eth

The freed prisoner Naseem Al-Radi‘ was arrested in northern Gaza for 22 months and released in the recent exchange. He endured severe torture and now suffers from nightmares, insomnia, anxiety, and constant fear. His home was bombed, critically injuring his mother; later, his family was targeted again, and his father was killed. In prison, he refused to cooperate with an Israeli officer who threatened him: “I’ll make you regret your wife and children.” Naseem never imagined the threat would become real — but his wife and three of his children were later killed in a strike, with only one daughter surviving. When the prisoners’ buses reached Nasser Hospital, he searched desperately for his wife. He looked into people’s eyes, hoping for an answer, and was told she must be nearby. He had even embroidered his family’s names on a piece of cloth inside prison to gift them upon his release. Seeing another freed prisoner using a phone, he borrowed it and called his wife — the phone was off. He called his own number, and his sister answered, hesitating before finally telling him the truth: his wife and children had been killed. He fainted twice upon hearing the news, waking to the shattering reality that the family he had dreamed of returning to was gone.