Background
Ibrahim is a male teenage Palestinian-American born in Florida. His family lives in both Palm Bay, Florida and the West Bank village of Silwad. [3] [1] [4] He is the youngest of five. His cousin, Palestinian-American Sayfollah Musallet, was beaten to death by Israeli settlers in July 2025 while visiting relatives in the village of Sinjil. [5] According to other relatives, Ibrahim does not know that his cousin was killed as of October 2025. [6]
Since the outbreak of the Gaza war on October 7, 2023, Israel has carried out mass arrests and detentions of Palestinians. Thousands have been arrested in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories and in Israel, based on alleged militant activity, offensive social media postings, or arbitrarily. [7] [8] [9]
News outlets and human rights organizations both within and outside of Israel reported that thousands of Gazan workers in Israel were detained in the weeks following October 7. [8] Additionally, Israel has detained or enforced disappearance of residents of the Gaza Strip, arrested Palestinians in the West Bank and Arab citizens of Israel, and detained fighters captured inside Israel. [10] [11] [12] Concerns have been raised regarding the legality, secrecy, and conditions of many detentions, including allegations of widespread mistreatment, torture, and sexual assault. [13] [14]
Campaign for release
In March 2025, Ibrahim's father reached out to Florida Republican congressman Mike Haridopolos after he had not heard from Ibrahim 45 days after his arrest. Haridopolos's office confirmed they received the queries about Ibrahim and sent his information to the U.S. State Department. [1] Embassy officials were eventually able to visit Ibrahim, and informed his family that he "appeared to have lost 12kg (26lb) in the spring." Embassy staff also informed the family that Ibrahim was suffering from scabies. [1] [18]
On 26 August 2025, a coalition of over 100 American "faith, human rights, and civil rights groups" sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio demanding Ibrahim's safe release. [16] [19] [20] [21] Notable signatories include Council on American–Islamic Relations, [22] [23] IfNotNow, Jewish Voice for Peace, Sunrise Movement, Pax Christi, and the family of Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi. [16] [1] [24] The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, also a member of the coalition, purchased a billboard in Times Square that read "Free Mohammed Ibrahim" and "Israel has held him without trial ever since" the start of his detention. [25] On that same day, Tampa Bay congresswoman Kathy Castor shared a statement urging the Trump Administration to secure Ibrahim's release. [26]
On 8 September 2025, Minnesota congresswoman Ilhan Omar posted on X (formerly Twitter) "The Israeli government is holding Mohammed Zaher Ibrahim, a 16-year-old Palestinian-American citizen, in prison. He has been held without trial for over six months. He must be released." [27] [28]
The U.S State Department announced that they are appointing a dedicated official working on Ibrahim's case on 28 September 2025. [25] [29] This came following a series of high profile meetings on Capitol Hill [30] and a press conference with members of Ibrahim's family alongside Washington congresswoman Pramila Jayapal and representatives from the families of American citizens killed by the Israeli military or Israeli settlers: Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi, Sayfollah Musallet, Tawfiq Abdel Jabbar, and Rachel Corrie. [25] [31] [32] Eygi's sister Ozden Bennett met with Massachusetts representative Jim McGovern, telling the lawmaker that Ibrahim “feels like my little brother,” adding: “I can’t do anything for my sister, but we can help him.” [33]
According to his uncle, Ibrahim was not included in the exchange of hostages and prisoners from the 2025 Gaza peace plan, and remains in Israeli prison as of 16 October 2025. [34] [35]
On 22 October 2025, 27 Democratic members of Congress wrote to Marco Rubio and US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee urging them "to secure the swift release of this American boy." [36]
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