This report, written by Dr. Einat Yehene and Prof. Hagai Levin and published in February 2025 on behalf of the Health Division of the Abductees' Families Headquarters, deals with the unique and difficult reality of families of abductees who were declared martyrs following the October 7 attack, but whose loved ones have not yet been reburied, or whose repatriation occurred after a long period of time.
The report presents for the first time a new conceptualization of “disrupted bereavement” – a concept developed as part of the research – which describes a persistent state of bereavement in uncertainty, combining traumatic bereavement and vague loss. This is a situation in which the grieving processes are disrupted, frozen and discontinuous: receiving news of a void without certain identification, lack of farewell, lack of a grave to visit, ongoing uncertainty regarding the circumstances of the death, and a profound disruption of the sequence of mourning, ritual and existential time.
Based on in-depth interviews with family members, it is described how these disruptions exacerbate feelings of ambiguity, guilt, doubt, anger and a sense of abandonment, and place families at high risk of psychological distress, functional impairment and ongoing physical and mental illness. The report emphasizes that the lack of sufficient recognition of the unique status of the families of the abductees and their families – on the part of the establishment, the media and society – intensifies the harm and leaves many families in isolated mourning and without an appropriate response.
Along with describing the emotional, health and family consequences, the report presents clear systemic recommendations: immediate return of all the deceased for burial, official institutional recognition of the unique status of the families, adaptation of the mechanisms for delivering the news, sensitivity in public and media discourse, and the establishment of a long-term multi-professional support and rehabilitation system. The report presents an unequivocal position according to which the return of the deceased is not only a moral and national obligation, but a basic condition for rehabilitation and recovery, and for the ability of society as a whole to begin a process of processing, meaning and reconstruction.
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