Shamikh says his friend told him he had messaged his brother “many times”, but the texts went unanswered.

“If he’s not, we have to bury their bodies in a respectful way.”

Palestinian-Australian brothers Majed and Shamikh Badra intend on travelling to northern Gaza to reunite with their mother and find their brother, who went missing 12 months ago. Source: SBS News

In a statement to SBS News, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said Australians should not travel to Gaza or areas near its border, due to an extreme risk to health and safety.

Nevertheless, some Palestinian-Australians are so desperate to head back to Gaza in search of their loved ones that they’re willing to ignore government advice.

“The main concern of many relatives, both here and in Gaza, is searching for some of the family members who were missing and whom we do not even know where they are. Were they imprisoned? Were they among the dead?,” he said.

Mahmoud Kaskeen’s cousin has disappeared since the war began. But he’s unsure whether he’s dead or alive. Source: SBS News

Thousands of people missing in Gaza

“We’re also trying to trace them, so what we do, especially during the war, before the ceasefire, we were trying to reunite the children with their parents, most often from the north to the south.”

The October 7 attack was a significant escalation in the long-standing conflict between Israel and Hamas.