West Bank - Palestinian-American 16-year-old Mohammed Zaher Ibrahim has finally been reunited with his family after over nine months of Israeli detention!

"Words can't describe the immense relief we have as a family right now, to have Mohammed in his parents' arms," Ibrahim's uncle, Zeyad Kadur, said in a statement shared by reporter Jasper Nathaniel.

"For more than 9 months, our family has been living a horrific and endless nightmare, particularly Mohammed's mother and father, who haven't been able to see or touch their youngest child for nearly a year, all while knowing Israeli soldiers were beating him and starving him. We couldn't believe Mohammed was free until his parents wrapped their arms around him and felt him safe," Kadur added.

Last February, Israeli forces dragged Ibrahim from his bed in the middle of the night in the village of al-Mazraa ash-Sharqiya, north of Ramallah, in the illegally occupied West Bank. The then 15-year-old was handcuffed, blindfolded, and taken to an Israeli prison.

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Israeli authorities had charged Ibrahim, a US citizen who lives between Palestine and Florida, with two counts of throwing stones in the West Bank. He faced up to 20 years behind bars.

"Right now, we are focused on getting Mohammed the immediate medical attention he needs after being subjected to Israel's abuse and inhumane conditions for months. We just want Mohammed to be healthy and to have his childhood back," Kadur said.

Senator Chris Van Hollen, one of the members of US Congress who demanded Ibrahim's release, said on X, "I was relieved to hear from his family today and to know that he's safe and where he belongs – with his family."

Advocates are calling on the US government to ensure accountability for Israel's abuse of Ibrahim and other Palestinian children it has detained.

"Mohammed's homecoming is a blessing, but it does not erase the torture and suffering he endured," the Council on American-Islamic Relations' Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw said in a statement.

"The US government has a responsibility to investigate Israel's abuse of an American citizen and ensure that no other child – American or Palestinian – is subjected to the same treatment."

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Nathaniel shared videos on X of Ibrahim hugging his father, mother, grandmother, and other family members and visiting a hospital for medical care. The teen reportedly lost considerable weight and contracted scabies in Israeli custody, with members of Congress acknowledging that he showed "signs of torture."

The reporter described the homecoming day as "bittersweet," as Ibrahim did not know until his release that Israeli settlers had killed his cousin, 20-year-old US citizen Saifullah Kamel Musallet.

Kadur said, "There are hundreds of children like Mohammed, unjustly trapped in an Israeli military prison, being subjected to Israel's abuse and torture. No mother, father, parent, brother, sister, aunt, uncle, or child should ever have to go through what Mohammed just went through."

"As we support Mohammed and are beyond relieved he is free, we will continue to demand justice for Sayfollah Musallet, Mohammed's American first cousin, who was beaten to death and murdered by a mob of Israeli settlers on July 11, 2025. We expect the American government to protect our families."