Human rights reports: After 3 years of devastation, over 7,000 missing in Gaza, including 4,000 under rubble
Human rights reports: After 3 years of devastation, over 7,000 missing in Gaza, including 4,000 under rubble
OCCUPIED PALESTINE, Oct. 07 (YPA) – More than 7,000 people remain missing in the Gaza Strip, including approximately 4,000 believed to be trapped under rubble and over 2,500 subjected to enforced disappearance, the Palestinian Center for the Missing and Enforced Disappeared stated on Wednesday.
Marking three years since the onset of the missing persons crisis in Gaza, the center highlighted that families remain unaware of the fate of their relatives.
The center noted that hundreds went missing near the border on October 7, 2023, including minors who had gathered to observe the unfolding events.
According to the center, Israeli occupation authorities have employed enforced disappearance as a systematic policy, collective punishment, and a tool of leverage against Palestinians. The statement noted that cases of enforced disappearance have persisted even after the ceasefire declared on October 9, 2025.
The statement further asserted that Israeli occupation authorities refuse to disclose the identities of detainees and have returned hundreds of unidentified bodies without providing information regarding the circumstances of their deaths. The center emphasized that international law and the Geneva Conventions guarantee the fundamental right of families to know the fate of their missing relatives.
Warning of severe psychological and physical tolls on affected families due to the ongoing withholding of information and prolonged uncertainty, the center added that continued Israeli occupation restrictions on heavy machinery entry continue to hinder the recovery of human remains and dignified burials.
The Palestinian Center for the Missing and Enforced Disappeared called on Israeli occupation authorities to immediately disclose the fate of all missing persons and the names of detainees, facilitate international visitation rights, and support the establishment of an independent investigative mechanism to collect evidence and determine the status of the missing and forcibly disappeared.
YPA