UK report identifies Gazan woman and adult daughter claimed to be missing in 2023 photo with IDF troops

An investigation by the UK’s Sky News has identified a Palestinian elderly woman and her daughter from Gaza who were last seen blindfolded and in Israeli custody in a December 2023 photograph posted on social media by an Israeli soldier.

The family of 78-year-old Aisha Bakr al-Aqqad and her 41-year-old daughter Huda tells the network they have received no information on their whereabouts and are unsure if the pair are in Israeli prison or what happened to them.

Responding to the report, the military said “the individuals mentioned are not being held by the IDF, and there is no indication that they were held in IDF detention facilities. The women were released in the Gaza Strip shortly after [the photograph was snapped].”

“The incident has been referred for review,” it adds.

Among the most heartbreaking stories in Gaza are those of the abducted women.

Palestinian women were abducted by Israeli forces during raids or displacement, then completely disappeared behind prison walls.

Among them are Aisha and Huda Al-Aqqad, a mother and daughter who were… pic.twitter.com/yvhD14P0II

— Osama Abu Rabee أسامة أبوربيع (@dn_osama_rabee) May 7, 2026