As part of its ongoing efforts to record cases of missing persons and enforced disappearances across the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian Centre for Missing and Forcibly Disappeared (PCMFD) has documented the case of Hamada Samir Kahil. The centre noted strong indicators that the young man was detained and subjected to enforced disappearance or undisclosed custody by Israeli forces in the north of the enclave.
Account of the Incident
According to documentation gathered by the centre—including testimony from the family and power of attorney granted by them—Hamada Samir Kahil was 18 years old at the time of his disappearance (born 21 September 2006) and worked as an auto mechanic. A resident of the Al-Zaytoun neighborhood in Gaza City, he went missing on Thursday, 28 August 2025.
Based on statements provided by his family, available documentation, and an eyewitness account, Kahil had travelled to the Zikim area in northern Gaza in an attempt to secure food aid for his family. During his time there, Israeli military forces advanced and mounted an incursion into the area. Contact with Kahil was abruptly lost from that moment on; he failed to return home, and all avenues to determine his whereabouts were cut off, leaving his official fate unknown ever since.
Indicators of Enforced Disappearance
The disappearance of Kahil in an area that saw direct Israeli military control and operations, combined with the Israeli authorities’ refusal to disclose his status or provide details regarding potential detention, aligns this case with patterns of suspected systematic enforced disappearance. The centre stressed that such deliberate withholding of information constitutes a grave violation of international humanitarian law and the provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention.
Searches and Formal Inquiries
Following Kahil’s disappearance, his family initiated searches through all available legal and official channels. On 30 September 2025, his father, Samir Kahil, filed an official report with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). However, these efforts yielded no official responses or confirmation regarding his whereabouts or detention status.
Acting on authorization granted by the victim’s family, the PCMFD officially recorded the case and submitted a formal complaint to the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID). The submission calls on the international community to press Israeli authorities for an immediate disclosure of Kahil’s whereabouts and an end to the ongoing denial of his detention.
An Uncertain Fate
To date, the fate of Hamada Samir Kahil remains officially unconfirmed. His family, alongside human rights organizations, are appealing for urgent international intervention to establish his whereabouts, relieve the family’s ordeal, and guarantee his legal protection.
Rights advocates emphasize that the case highlights a broader pattern targeting civilians seeking humanitarian aid, as well as the practice of undisclosed detentions, demanding international accountability and the safe return of those forcibly disappeared to their families.
