Amid the ruins of Al-Shati refugee camp, Um Malik Baroud searched relentlessly for her husband, Mahmoud, who had disappeared without a trace during Israel’s invasion of the camp in November 2023. With each passing day, hope flickered between despair and faith as she combed through rubble, checked prisons, and reached out to every organisation that might have information.

Her once-complete family had already been shattered by the war. One by one, she had bid farewell to her four sons and her daughter, mourning them with unwavering patience. Even as loss engulfed her, she held onto the belief that Mahmoud was still alive, detained somewhere by the occupation. But today, that hope was extinguished.

His body, buried in a makeshift grave at a public park in Al-Shati camp, was finally identified. With cemeteries overflowing and burials impossible, the park had become a resting place for the fallen. When the bodies were relocated last Friday, one remained unclaimed—until Um Malik recognised his teeth and identification papers, confirming the truth she had dreaded for months.

Her grief had already been etched into history. Videos of her bidding farewell to her sons had gone viral, her voice unwavering as she called out:
"MashaAllah, you’re bearing witness… They have gone as martyrs, just as they wished."

Her daughter Hanin, a journalist, had shared her sorrow and longing on social media before she, too, was killed in an Israeli massacre, reuniting with her father and brothers in death.

In her final farewell, Um Malik’s words echoed the resilience of an entire people:
"I have bid farewell to five of my children—blessed are they, martyrs for faith and for Palestine. We have white cloth to shroud our children in, but we have no white flags to raise."