The Palestinian Center for the Missing and Forcibly Disappeared expresses its solidarity with the families of missing and forcibly disappeared persons in the Gaza Strip on the occasion of the holy month of Ramadan, amid the continued legal and humanitarian uncertainty surrounding the fate of thousands of individuals since the outbreak of hostilities on 7 October 2023.
The PCMFD underscores that the number of reported missing persons in the Gaza Strip remains alarmingly high. Current estimates indicate that more than 7,000 individuals are still unaccounted for, including thousands believed to be buried under the rubble or located in areas that remain inaccessible. In addition, thousands of others are suspected to be held within Israeli detention systems without accurate information regarding their whereabouts or health conditions.
The PCMFD affirms that the ongoing lack of information concerning the fate of these individuals constitutes a violation of the fundamental right to know the fate of missing persons, a right enshrined in international humanitarian law and in the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. These legal frameworks oblige authorities that detain individuals or control relevant information to promptly disclose their locations, as well as their legal and health status.
The Center notes that the advent of Ramadan—a period traditionally marked by family gatherings and communal observance—further highlights the profound and prolonged institutional impact of this situation on thousands of families who continue to await legal clarity regarding their loved ones. Whether detained, killed without the return of their bodies, or otherwise unaccounted for, the continued absence of information prolongs their legal limbo and obstructs families’ ability to exercise their rights to truth, dignified burial, and justice.
The PCMFD stresses the urgent need for effective and credible international pressure to ensure the full and immediate disclosure of the fate of all missing and forcibly disappeared persons, as well as the provision of accurate information regarding places of detention and the health conditions of detainees. It further calls for enabling civil defense teams and specialized professional crews to access sites of destruction and conduct systematic recovery operations, including the use of identification technologies such as DNA testing.
The Center warns that the continued withholding of such information—particularly during occasions of profound social and legal significance such as Ramadan—not only reflects a failure to implement international obligations, but also deepens the ongoing violations affecting thousands of individuals and the legal rights of their families to truth and justice.
The Palestinian Center for the Missing and Forcibly Disappeared reiterates that ending the tragedy of the missing is not merely a humanitarian imperative, but a binding legal obligation under international human rights and humanitarian law—one that admits no further delay.
