Over 9,500 Palestinians have gone missing since 2023: Report
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Gaza: A report released by the Al-Dameer Association for Human Rights has revealed that more than 9,500 Palestinians, including around 4,700 women and children, have gone missing or lost contact with their families since the start of Israel's war on Gaza in October 2023.
The report, titled “Missing Palestinians in the Gaza Strip Amid the Genocidal War”, describes the disappearances as one of the gravest humanitarian consequences of the conflict.
According to Al-Dameer, the largest group of missing persons consists of more than 8,100 people believed to be trapped beneath the rubble of homes and buildings destroyed during Israeli bombardments, with their fate still unknown.
The organisation also documented more than 250 Palestinians who disappeared while seeking humanitarian aid or travelling along aid distribution routes, particularly those linked to the US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.
The report further recorded more than 350 Palestinians who crossed the border fence on October 7, 2023 and have not been heard from since. It said Israeli authorities have not provided information about their whereabouts. In addition, contact has reportedly been lost with more than 800 Palestinians detained by Israeli forces during military operations or while passing through checkpoints between northern and southern Gaza.
Al-Dameer said the cases raise serious concerns under international humanitarian law, citing the Fourth Geneva Convention, Additional Protocol I, the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
The organisation called for disclosure of the fate of all missing persons, the release of detainees, access for rescue and forensic teams, creation of a genetic database to identify victims, international accountability measures, and legal protections guaranteeing families the right to know the fate of missing relatives.
According to the report, more than 73,000 Palestinians have been killed and over 173,000 injured since October 2023, while thousands remain missing.