As part of the ongoing efforts by the Palestinian Center for Missing and Enforced Disappeared Persons (PCMFD) to document cases of disappearance and enforced disappearance in the Gaza Strip, the case of Mr. Issam Mohammed Hamad has emerged as a high-priority concern. There are credible grounds to believe Mr. Hamad may have been subjected to arbitrary detention and enforced disappearance by Israeli forces, given the total lack of official information regarding his fate or whereabouts.
Incident Details
Issam Mohammed Hamad (48), a resident of Al-Maghazi Camp, went missing on the morning of Thursday, August 14, 2025. Documentation indicates that Mr. Hamad departed his residence at approximately 8:00 AM on a bicycle, heading toward Khan Yunis to visit relatives and secure food supplies for his family.
Field data indicates that the disappearance occurred in the “Fash Farsh” area of Al-Mawasi, Khan Yunis. At the time of his transit, the area—specifically Al-Matahen Street—was the site of Israeli military operations, which included mass arrests of civilians and reported casualties. These circumstances strongly support the hypothesis that his disappearance is linked to these military activities.
Grave Concerns Regarding Fate
Since that date, there has been no contact with Mr. Hamad, and he has not been located in any medical facilities. This significantly increases the likelihood that he is being held in Israeli custody or was directly targeted during the operation. Fears for his safety are exacerbated by the fact that he was carrying neither a mobile phone nor identification documents at the time of his disappearance, complicating efforts to track him within undeclared detention centers.
The prolonged detention of civilians without disclosing their location or providing legal charges constitutes a flagrant violation of international conventions and places their lives at extreme risk under the classification of enforced disappearance.
Actions Taken
Mr. Hamad’s family has pursued several avenues to determine his location, including:
-International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC): Filed an inquiry; however, no information has been recorded in their database to date.
-Legal Representation: A lawyer in Israel was appointed to petition the authorities. The official response claimed “no record” of Issam Hamad in current detainee lists—a response frequently issued in cases of enforced disappearance.
-PCMFD Action: The Center has officially documented the case and submitted a formal report to the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID) on January 22, 2026, demanding that Israeli authorities immediately clarify his fate.
Status: Unknown
The fate of Issam Hamad remains entirely unknown. PCMFD renews its call to the international community and human rights organizations to pressure Israeli authorities to release lists of detainees from the Gaza Strip and grant international monitors access to detention centers to ensure the safety of the missing and protect them from torture or extrajudicial execution.
