As ceasefire negotiations inch towards a possible breakthrough, families of the missing across Gaza remain suspended in a torturous limbo, grasping onto hope that a pause in the bombing might finally bring clarity about the fate of their loved ones.

For the thousands whose relatives have vanished amid months of brutal war, the wait is anything but silent. Each whisper of a truce fuels both hope and dread. While men prepare to venture into ruins and perilous zones, women scour hospitals, morgues, and rubble, desperate for any sign, any word, that could reveal whether their missing are alive, wounded, imprisoned, or buried beneath the wreckage.

Among them is Badr Al-Masri, whose brother Ramez disappeared weeks ago after heading towards the Zikim aid distribution point, one of the many sites now known more for bloodshed than relief. “He went out to get food. That was the last time we saw him,” Badr told Safa News Agency. “No one heard from him again, not even the friends who were with him.”

Now, the family waits, hoping the ceasefire will allow access to the area where Ramez was last seen. “We’re convinced he’s either a martyr or a prisoner,” Badr said. “But even the truth would be a mercy. We just want to know.”

Warida Saadallah’s pain echoes the same void. Her husband left to find food for their children, and never returned. “He vanished,” she said. “No trace. No news. No one knows anything.”

Choking back tears, she added: “My son keeps asking, ‘Where’s Dad?’ And I keep saying, ‘Tomorrow.’ But he doesn’t believe me anymore. And I don't blame him.”

They are not alone. According to local reports, many of the disappeared were last seen heading to distribution sites, places like Nabulsi, Netzarim, and Zikim, where they were met with Israeli gunfire instead of food. Over 550 people have been confirmed killed in these zones, with thousands injured, and countless more still unaccounted for.

The Palestinian Centre for the Missing and Forcibly Disappeared reports a sharp spike in such cases, particularly near aid centres run by international organisations. The centre holds Israeli forces directly responsible for the civilians who disappeared in areas under full military control at the time of their last known presence.

Now, across Gaza, thousands of families are waiting, not just for a ceasefire, but for the chance to begin the search. To find a name. A body. Or, with luck, a survivor. The hope that tomorrow might bring answers is all they have left.