World
Rights group: More than 9,500 missing in Gaza since start of war
A human rights organisation in Gaza has reported more than 9,500 cases of Palestinians who have gone missing or lost contact with their families since the start of the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip on 7th October 2023, including around 4,700 women and children.
In a report released on Tuesday evening titled Missing Palestinians in the Gaza Strip Amid the Genocidal War, Al-Dameer Association for Human Rights said the cases fall into five main categories.
“The largest category consists of persons whose fate remains unknown beneath the rubble, estimated at more than 8,100 individuals trapped under the debris of tens of thousands of residential buildings and facilities that were completely destroyed as a result of the unprecedented aerial, ground, and naval bombardment,” the report stated.
The report also documented more than 250 cases of people who went missing while travelling to humanitarian aid distribution points or along routes used by aid trucks, particularly those linked to the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which is operated by US private security companies.
According to the report, contact has also been lost with more than 800 Palestinians detained by Israeli forces while moving from northern Gaza to the south through military checkpoints or during Israeli ground incursions into the Gaza Strip.
