As part of the ongoing efforts by the Palestinian Center for Missing and Forcibly Disappeared Persons (PCMFD) to document cases of disappearance and enforced disappearance, the case of Salem Adnan Abu Aweida stands out as one that raises serious concerns regarding targeting or enforced disappearance by Israeli forces in areas classified as “red zones.”
Incident Details:
Salem Adnan Abu Aweida (26 years old), a blacksmith and resident of the Al-Tuffah neighborhood in Gaza City, went missing on Friday, August 1, 2025. According to his family, Salem left his displacement site at “Asmaa School” in the Al-Shati area, heading alone to check on his home in Al-Tuffah (Al-Nakhal Street) at approximately 3:00 PM.
Field information indicates that the last contact with Salem was at 9:00 PM on the day of his disappearance. His phone was busy at first, then went completely out of service. Since then, all news of him has ceased, coinciding with the presence of Israeli forces in that area, which was considered a military operations zone.
Testimonies and Information on His Fate:
Despite the passing days, no testimonies have emerged of Salem being seen alive after that date. Increasing the Center’s concerns is that five days after the incident, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) was allowed into the area to recover the bodies of victims killed in bombings. Salem’s body was not among those recovered, strengthening the hypothesis that he was detained or forcibly disappeared. Documentation also noted that he received suspicious calls from unknown parties 46 days before his disappearance, urging him to go to dangerous areas to obtain aid.
Actions Taken:
Mr. Salem’s family took several steps to try and determine his location, including:
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC): They reported that his name was not in their records of Israeli detainees.
HaMoked (Center for the Defence of the Individual): The family contacted them, but the response was negative, stating his name was not in the records.
Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association: They also confirmed that he was not registered in official detention records.
For its part, the PCMFD officially documented the case and submitted a report to the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances on January 24, 2026, demanding that Israeli authorities reveal his fate.
The case of Salem Abu Aweida embodies the constant anxiety lived by thousands of Palestinian families due to the absence of official information. The Center renews its call to the international community to pressure for the opening of legal channels to uncover the fate of the missing and ensure their fundamental right to protection and communication with their families.
