The Observer spoke to three Palestinians from Gaza whose immediate family were killed while they were held by the Israeli military or in Israeli civilian prisons without charge or trial. They only learned about their losses when they were released months later.

The three men are civilians – a nurse, a civil servant and a headteacher of a primary school – who say they have never taken up arms. They had no access to a lawyer in jail and were not allowed to communicate with their families.

Legal rights groups say there are likely to be many other detainees from Gaza who have lost close family in Israeli attacks, but have not been told of their deaths.