As part of the ongoing efforts by the Palestinian Centre for the Missing and Forcibly Disappeared (PCMFD) to document cases of missing persons and enforced disappearances in the Gaza Strip, the Centre is documenting the disappearance of Hani Muhammad Kifah Attallah. This case exhibits clear indicators of arbitrary detention and enforced disappearance by the Israeli occupation forces.
According to the information and testimonies documented by the Centre, and pursuant to the direct authorization granted by the missing person’s family to their representative, Hani Muhammad Attallah—26 years old at the time of the incident (born July 7, 1998) and residing in Jabalia Camp (Block 8), Northern Gaza Governorate—went missing on December 29, 2024.
Incident Details and Circumstances of Disappearance
Based on available documentation, Hani Attallah was present at his secondary residence on Al-Barawi Street in the Beit Lahia area of Northern Gaza Governorate when the neighborhood was subjected to intense bombardment and a ground incursion by the Israeli army, resulting in the martyrdom of several neighbors and the arrest of others.
Initially, neighbors and residents believed Hani had been killed in the shelling; however, his body was not found among the deceased, and no physical evidence confirmed his death, while the area remained under the total control of occupation forces without any other presence.
Sightings in Prisons and Testimonies of Released Detainees
Despite official policy denying his presence, corroborating testimonies from released prisoners confirm that Hani Attallah has been held in Israeli detention facilities and transferred between them:
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February 2025: A released detainee from the Abu Seif family reported seeing Hani inside Sde Teiman detention center.
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October 13, 2025: Another released detainee confirmed seeing him inside Negev (Ketziot) Prison.
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April 2026: Fresh testimonies from released prisoners indicated seeing him inside Nefha Prison, noting that detainees undergo constant transfers between various detention facilities and prisons.
Search Efforts, Follow-Up, and Legal Actions Taken
Approximately one month after his disappearance (January 2025), the family pursued all available avenues to locate him, submitting official inquiries to HaMoked: Center for the Defence of the Individual, Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Human rights organizations relayed that Israeli authorities disclaimed knowledge and that his name was absent from official prison registries.
Following up on the case, the family resubmitted an inquiry through HaMoked on February 26, 2026, which yielded the same result: continuous denial by Israeli authorities regarding his detention or location.
Based on the family’s direct authorization, the PCMFD submitted an urgent formal communication to the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID) in Geneva, calling on UN mechanisms to exert serious international pressure on Israeli authorities to investigate his disappearance, immediately disclose his whereabouts and fate, and end the policy of concealment.
Unknown Fate and Urgent Appeal
To date, Hani Attallah remains forcibly disappeared. His family and the Centre urgently appeal to all human rights organizations, international bodies, and UN committees to intervene immediately, pressure Israeli authorities to fulfill their legal obligations, disclose Hani’s place of detention, and guarantee his rights and protection as a detainee. This case illustrates the systematic policy of enforced disappearance carried out against civilians, requiring decisive international action to end the policy of denial and uphold the family’s fundamental right to know the fate of their son.
