In the heart of Florida, a family’s anguish stretches across continents, entwined with the fate of a 16-year-old boy, Mohammed Ibrahim. As of October 25, 2025, Mohammed, a Palestinian-American from Palm Bay, has spent eight months in Israeli prisons, his future uncertain and his family’s hope flickering in the face of bureaucratic silence and international tension. The story of his detention—and the growing calls for his release—has become a rallying point for advocates, lawmakers, and loved ones desperate for answers.
According to the Associated Press, Mohammed’s ordeal began on February 15, 2025. He was visiting family in the West Bank with his parents, a trip meant to reconnect with relatives and heritage. But that visit took a harrowing turn. Israeli military forces arrested him at a family home near Ramallah, accusing the then-15-year-old of throwing rocks at Israeli settlers. Those allegations, his supporters insist, are unsubstantiated, and the consequences he faces are severe: under Israeli law, he could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison for the alleged offense.
The Ibrahim family’s suffering is compounded by another recent tragedy. Earlier this year, Mohammed’s 20-year-old cousin, Sayfollah Musallet, was beaten to death by settlers in the West Bank village of Al Mazra as-Sharqiya. The family’s grief is raw and unrelenting. “This is really about two American sisters, one who just buried her son and her older sister going to give her support and also praying that her son doesn’t join the club of Americans killed overseas,” Mohammed’s uncle, Zeyad Kadur, told AP. “They’re going through this together.”
For Mohammed’s other uncle, Kamel Musallet, the pain is ever-present. “It’s basically made our family numb,” he said. “It’s been over three months and there’s not a day me and my wife don’t cry.” The sorrow has left the family in a state of suspended animation, unable to move forward as they wait for news from afar.
Mohammed’s arrest is not an isolated incident. Since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war, Israeli military forces have conducted frequent arrest raids across the West Bank, detaining unprecedented numbers of Palestinians. According to AP, these sweeps have ensnared not only suspected militants but also civilians and alleged stone-throwers. While Israeli authorities maintain that such arrests are necessary to root out militancy, Palestinians widely view stone-throwing as an act of resistance against occupation. The line between protest and crime, in these fraught circumstances, is often hotly contested.
Mohammed’s case has drawn the attention of a broad coalition of advocates. More than 100 U.S. faith-based, human rights, and civil rights organizations have signed a joint letter addressed to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, urging urgent action to secure the teenager’s release. The letter, sent earlier this month, calls on the U.S. government to intervene directly with Israeli authorities. The pressure didn’t stop there. On October 21, a bipartisan group of 15 U.S. senators and 12 representatives sent their own letter to Rubio and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, expressing “grave concern” over Mohammed’s plight and urging immediate diplomatic engagement.
The lawmakers’ message was clear: “Engage the Israeli government directly to secure the swift release of this American boy.” The involvement of such a significant number of congressional leaders underscores the seriousness with which Mohammed’s case is being taken in Washington.
Mike Huckabee, the U.S. ambassador, had previously visited the family in July, shortly after Sayfollah Musallet’s death. According to Kamel Musallet, the family was hopeful after Huckabee’s visit. “We said, ‘alhumdulillah,’ at least some good has come out of it and Mohammed was going to come out of prison,” Musallet recalled, using an Arabic phrase giving praise to God. “And 3 1/2 months later, still nothing.” The sense of disappointment is palpable, as each passing day without progress deepens the family’s despair.
Communication with Mohammed has been severely limited. The Israeli military has barred his family from direct contact since his arrest. Instead, they must rely on sporadic updates from the U.S. Embassy in Israel, which shares what information it can about Mohammed’s condition. “We hope he knows we’re doing everything we can to get him out,” Zaher Ibrahim, Mohammed’s father, told AP. The uncertainty about his well-being gnaws at his loved ones.
Reports emerging from his time at Megiddo and Ofer prisons paint a grim picture. According to an affidavit provided to the family by Mohammed’s lawyer, the cells are overcrowded, forcing some prisoners to sleep on mattresses on the floor. Food is scarce, with meager portions at breakfast and lunch, and no dinner or fresh fruit. Showers are offered only briefly to groups, and not everyone gets the chance to bathe. Defense for Children International-Palestine, whose lawyer has met with Mohammed, described the conditions as dire.
The physical toll on Mohammed has been significant. Embassy reports shared with the family and reviewed by AP indicate he has lost weight and suffered a scabies infection during his incarceration. “His health, mentally and physically, are a big question for the family,” Kadur said. The impact of such conditions on a teenager, far from home and separated from family, is difficult to fathom.
Complicating matters further, Mohammed’s parents remain in the West Bank, unwilling to leave without their son. Advocacy groups, including the Council on American-Islamic Relations, warn that if they were to depart, Israel might not allow them to return, leaving Mohammed even more isolated. The family’s predicament is emblematic of the broader challenges faced by Palestinian-Americans caught up in the region’s turmoil.
The risks for young detainees are not hypothetical. Earlier this year, a teenager from the West Bank who was held for six months without charge at Megiddo prison became the first Palestinian under 18 to die in Israeli detention, collapsing in the prison’s yard. The specter of such tragedies haunts Mohammed’s relatives, fueling their urgency and fear.
For now, the Ibrahim family waits, caught between hope and heartbreak. Their calls for intervention have echoed from Florida to Washington to the halls of the U.S. Embassy in Israel. Whether those pleas will be answered remains to be seen, but the story of Mohammed’s detention has already galvanized a movement, drawing sharp attention to the fates of Palestinian-American youth in the crosshairs of international conflict.
As the days tick by, the family’s resolve is tested, but their determination to bring Mohammed home burns as fiercely as ever.