‘I don’t know if she’s dead or alive’: hostage swap leaves Palestinian girl’s family in limbo

Nofuz Hammad, 16, was on the list of prisoners to be freed, but when her father went to meet her, she did not emerge

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Palestinian families, as well as Israelis, have been celebrating reunions, as loved ones held in Israeli prisons return home under the hostage swap and ceasefire deal with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. But for the Hammad family, from occupied East Jerusalem, this week has brought more questions than answers – and more worry than joy.

Their daughter, 16-year-old Nofuz Hammad, was on the list of imprisoned women and children to be released on Saturday, the second day of the four-day truce. Only one member of each family was allowed to go to collect the detainees, some of whom, including Nofuz, were supposed to be released at the notorious West Jerusalem detention and interrogation facility known as the Russian Compound.