They were forced to hand one son over to the Israeli army in return for another. Eight months later he was dead in prison
Tragedy in Custody: The Tazaza Family’s Heartbreaking Choice
The loss of Ahmad Tazaza has left his parents in a state of anguish, grappling with both sorrow and remorse for their son’s demise in August 2025 at Israel’s Megiddo prison.
The Detention Process
Ahmad, a 20-year-old with no prior medical issues, was surrendered to Israeli authorities in the occupied West Bank in January 2025. His parents remain puzzled about the reason for his detention, though the situation mirrors the experiences of countless other Palestinian youths.
For months, Israeli security forces raided their home in Qabatiya, a northern West Bank town, repeatedly seeking Ahmad. The family endured intimidation and threats, with his mother Najah Abdul Qader recalling the violence:
“They smashed the house and destroyed everything.”
Despite being at the market, where he worked and slept, forces detained his brother and father. “We want him,” they said upon releasing the family in the morning, according to Qader. Later, an Israeli soldier warned of bombing the house if Ahmad didn’t surrender himself. He had narrowly avoided capture before, leaping from a crushed car as bulldozers approached.
A Trade for Safety
After failing to locate Ahmad, authorities detained his brother again. Saeed Tazaza, the father, recounted the exchange:
“They said: ‘We will not release him until you bring your [other] son.’ His brother is married with two children. So we told Ahmad we wanted to see him. We caught him and took him.”
Accompanied by their other son, the parents delivered Ahmad to the Salem checkpoint near Jenin. “He looked at us and I knew he would not return,” Qader said, describing the moment he turned away from them. “I felt he was not coming back.”
They believed surrendering him would secure his safety, hoping he’d serve time and be freed. “I handed my son over because I was afraid for him,” his father stated. “We were forced, and we handed him over. What could we do? This is our fate.”
Medical Dispute and Unanswered Questions
According to a post-mortem report reviewed by Middle East Eye, Ahmad died at 21 in Megiddo prison on 3 August 2025. The document, dated 8 August, was authored by a physician from Physicians for Human Rights Israel (PHRI), a group permitted by Israeli authorities to monitor prisoner autopsies.
The report noted Ahmad had been described as healthy at detention. However, his prison records mentioned bouts of diarrhoea and scabies, with a sore throat reported days before his death. On 2 August, an on-call doctor observed blood stains on his trousers.
The findings described a sudden collapse during a clinic visit:
“During the clinic visit, Mr Tazaza requested to go to the toilet and later collapsed to the floor, losing consciousness and vital signs. Resuscitation attempts were initiated, but despite intubation and CPR, he was pronounced dead.”
The autopsy suggested potential signs of a severe blood cancer, such as acute leukaemia or aggressive lymphoma, ruling out “sudden death causes.” Yet, without access to his body—still held by Israeli authorities—Ahmad’s parents strongly contest the report’s conclusions.
They had limited contact with him during his eight-month imprisonment, relying instead on updates from released prisoners. A International Committee of the Red Cross liaison officer informed them of his death, though the ICRChas not had access to Palestinians in the area. “I handed my son to my enemy,” Qader admitted, reflecting on her regret. “But that’s it. We wanted to protect him.”
