Family identifies missing Gazan Mohammed Shorrab in soldier’s “For Sale” photo
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Mohammed Shorrab, a 41-year-old Palestinian man from Gaza with a mental health condition requiring ongoing family care, disappeared on 20 August 2024.
He left home for evening prayers and was last seen by relatives in the Al-Mawasi area near Khan Younis, where they escorted him to the grounds of Al-Aqsa University. His family has not seen him since.
For approximately 18 months, the Shorrab family conducted an exhaustive search. They distributed flyers, posted appeals online, and contacted humanitarian organizations, including the Red Cross, without success.
Their efforts yielded no information on his whereabouts or condition until late 2025.
In November 2025, an ‘Israeli’ soldier named Harel Amshika, serving with the Mesaya’ay (Support) Company of the Shaked Battalion under the Givati Brigade, posted a carousel of images on Instagram.
One photograph depicted a bound and blindfolded man seated on the ground, wearing a white hazmat suit marked “B4,” with the Hebrew text “למכירה” (“for sale”) overlaid.
Mohammed’s mother, Zahra Shorrab, identified her son by his hair, hands, and feet despite the blindfold.
The image has prompted widespread concern over the treatment of detainees, particularly vulnerable individuals.
Zahra Shorrab has publicly questioned the dehumanization evident in the post, asking whether Palestinian lives have been devalued to the point of being treated as commodities.
Such photographs shared by soldiers have been cited as part of a broader pattern of conduct during operations in Gaza.
Following the identification, the Global Legal Action Network (GLAN), working with the ‘Israeli’ human rights organization HaMoked, submitted formal inquiries.
On 26 February 2026, HaMoked requested information from the ‘Israeli’ Prison Service regarding Mohammed’s detention.
The Service responded that it had no record of him in any of its facilities.
In March 2026, GLAN sent a detailed request for information to the ‘Israeli’ military spokesperson’s Unit, providing medical records confirming Mohammed’s schizophrenia diagnosis and seeking clarification on the circumstances of his apparent detention.
The Unit declined to engage, stating it does not respond to inquiries from lawyers.
As of mid-May 2026, Mohammed Shorrab remains missing.
His family continues to seek definitive information on whether he is alive or deceased and, if detained, his current location and condition.
