2,700 Palestinian children get buried under Gaza rubble, 200 others remain missing
GAZA, April 27 (YPA) – The Palestinian Center for Missing Persons has estimated that around 2,700 bodies of Palestinian children remain trapped beneath the rubble of destroyed homes across the Gaza Strip, while the fate of nearly 200 other children remains unknown.
In an extensive report, Haaretz highlighted the stories of missing children, presenting documented human accounts accompanied by photographs in what observers described as a rare approach within Hebrew-language media.
The investigation documented multiple disappearance cases, including that of four-year-old Mohammed Ghabn, who reportedly vanished within minutes from his family’s tent in Beit Lahia amid chaotic displacement conditions. Appeals searching for missing children continue to appear daily on social media, with many cases involving children between the ages of three and ten.
The report noted that some disappearances were not solely the result of children becoming separated in overcrowded camps, but were also connected to direct wartime circumstances.
Some children went missing near confrontation zones, while others were last seen while attempting to obtain food. Many bodies are also believed to remain under collapsed buildings.
Among the cases cited was ten-year-old Samer Abu Jameh, who disappeared near Rafah after reportedly suffering severe psychological trauma caused by exposure to Israeli violence. His family was continuing to search without information regarding his whereabouts.
The investigation also referred to allegations of intelligence coercion, with the father of one missing girl claiming that an Israeli party offered information about his daughter in exchange for cooperation, which he said he rejected.
Meanwhile, the International Committee of the Red Cross confirmed that it holds thousands of open requests related to tracing missing persons in Gaza, noting that access to detainees and reliable information has remained severely restricted since the outbreak of the war.
The findings underscore the scale of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where the tragedy of missing children remains unresolved amid widespread destruction and the absence of a clear path toward relief.
AA