On the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, the Palestinian Center for the Missing and Forcibly Disappeared (PCMFD) releases a brief analytical study based on a sample of 317 cases of individuals suspected of being subjected to enforced disappearance during the war on the Gaza Strip. This report seeks to deconstruct operational patterns and the circumstances surrounding the disappearance of civilians, establishing a documentary framework to support search efforts and legal accountability.
The analyzed sample relies on reports received from families of missing persons, alongside cases documented firsthand by the Center; it does not represent the entirety of enforced disappearances or missing persons across the Gaza Strip. The analysis aims to identify shared characteristics within the documented cases—spanning gender, age, geographical distribution, and the events preceding disappearance—to foster a broader understanding of the patterns governing disappearances and the systematic withholding of information regarding victims’ fates.
The Center stresses that enforced disappearance, upon fulfillment of its legal elements, constitutes a grave violation of international law and may amount to a crime against humanity when committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against a civilian population. The Center warns that the ongoing denial of information concerning the fate of the disappeared—and depriving families of knowing their whereabouts and status—compounds the anguish of thousands of households, stripping them of one of their most fundamental rights: the right to know the truth regarding the fate of their loved ones.
Findings Reveal the Broad Scope of Disappearances
Demographic data from the sample indicates that documented disappearances span diverse segments of Palestinian society, with a pronounced concentration among males, accounting for 302 cases (95.27%), compared to 15 cases involving females (4.73%).
The documented cases encompass various age groups: the Center recorded 41 cases of children under the age of 18 (12.93%) and 17 cases of elderly individuals aged 60 and above (5.36%). Adults aged 18 to 59 constituted the vast majority, totaling 259 cases (81.70%).
An analysis of the data demonstrates that disappearances were not confined to a specific social or age group, but affected individuals across all strata of society, including children, women, the elderly, and men—many of whom were forced to navigate or enter areas designated as high-risk zones.
The Center emphasizes that these cases must be understood within the coercive conditions framing civilian life in Gaza. The desperate need to secure food, water, medicine, and basic necessities, or to return to displaced homes to retrieve essential belongings, forced individuals of all ages to risk moving into areas undergoing active military operations or subjected to security restrictions and checkpoints.
The cases of children, women, and the elderly hold particular significance, given the special protection requirements mandated by the rules of International Humanitarian Law, without diminishing the protections afforded to all civilians, including men. The Center notes that the presence of any of these groups in hazardous zones should not be construed as a voluntary assumption of risk; rather, it reflects the dire circumstances driving them into those areas, including repeated displacement, home destruction, severe food shortages, and the denial of basic humanitarian aid.
Information received by the Center further reveals that hunger, severe food insecurity, and the urgency to sustain families were primary drivers pushing civilians toward aid delivery points—including Zikim, Netzarim, and areas surrounding Khan Younis—under conditions involving extreme security and military hazards.
In other instances, family members were forced to return to previous areas of displacement or damaged homes to retrieve food, clothing, medication, or other basic supplies left behind during initial evacuations.
The Center maintains that these findings necessitate a comprehensive approach to documentation—one that moves beyond recording the location of an incident to examining the surrounding humanitarian context, the coercive pressures driving civilian movement, and the specific hazards encountered.
Civilian Movements Were Actively Monitored
The Center’s analysis of family testimonies and pre-disappearance movements indicates that a significant portion of these movements was clearly monitored by reconnaissance and surveillance aircraft operating in the skies over Gaza, particularly during displacement, transit between areas, movement toward aid points, or returns to homes to retrieve essentials.
The nature and context of these movements raise serious questions regarding the visibility of individuals in these zones and whether their deaths or disappearances could have been averted through clear warnings and the provision of effective, safe corridors instead of exposing them to harm.
Furthermore, the Center’s database includes cases where families or eyewitnesses reported that individuals were last seen during sieges of residential areas by Israeli forces or during active detentions, after which all communication ceased and their fate became unknown. These cases are critical to investigating the fate of individuals whose families have been unable to obtain any subsequent information regarding their place of detention or conditions.
The recurrence of these incidents across disparate regions, age groups, and social sectors—extending beyond individuals with documented involvement in hostilities—serves as an indicator warranting investigation into whether these documented disappearances point to a broader, systematic pattern of enforcing civilian disappearances.
These findings also heighten concerns regarding the use of disappearances or the intentional withholding of information as a form of collective punishment or pressure on the civilian population, rather than measures strictly tied to the detention of individuals suspected of participating in combat.
The Center stresses that establishing whether these acts constitute part of a systematic policy or widespread practice requires independent, thorough investigations, alongside an individualized assessment of evidence for each case. However, the sheer volume of cases, the repetition of identical patterns across different regions, and the inclusion of children, women, the elderly, and men demand that this issue be treated as a structural crisis rather than isolated incidents, necessitating full accountability for those whose fates remain unknown.
Highest Rates Recorded in Military Incursion Zones
Geographically, the distribution of cases reveals a stark concentration in areas subjected to intensive military operations and ground incursions, alongside repeated waves of forced displacement.
Gaza Governorate and its surrounding neighborhoods recorded the highest concentration with 89 cases (28.08%), followed by North Gaza Governorate—including Jabalia, Beit Lahia, and Beit Hanoun—with 74 cases (23.34%), and Khan Younis Governorate with 59 cases (18.61%).
Additionally, the Center documented 37 cases in the Middle Governorate (11.67%) and 32 cases in Rafah Governorate (10.09%).
The study also recorded 16 cases inside Israeli territory, border areas, and crossings (5.05%), 8 cases along safe corridors and the Netzarim axis (2.52%), and 2 cases near the so-called “Yellow Line,” dating back to 2026 (0.63%).
These figures underscore that disappearances concentrated in environments characterized by heightened risk during movement, active military operations, checkpoints, and raids, warranting further investigation into the correlation between field conditions prior to disappearance and the fate of those whose families remain without answers.
Coercive Circumstances Preceding Disappearance
Data regarding the circumstances of disappearance indicates that victims did not disappear under uniform conditions; rather, numerous cases occurred while individuals attempted to meet basic life-sustaining needs or navigate areas undergoing active military operations.
Direct raids on homes and sieges of residential neighborhoods topped the list of documented circumstances, accounting for 76 cases. The Center also recorded 60 cases of individuals who disappeared while attempting to inspect or return to their homes to retrieve essentials, and 42 cases during active displacement or while passing through military checkpoints.
Furthermore, 39 cases occurred during efforts to secure food or wait for aid trucks, alongside 23 cases linked to presence in border areas.
Documented cases extended to medical and humanitarian infrastructure: the Center recorded 22 cases associated with the siege or raiding of hospitals and patient transport operations, as well as 10 cases of disappearance while journalists and fieldworkers were carrying out their duties.
The study also documented 6 cases occurring while individuals gathered firewood, 2 cases involving children lost near the Yellow Line, and 37 cases under varied operational or personal circumstances, or where available information was insufficient to pinpoint the exact context.
This distribution raises severe concerns regarding the vulnerability of civilians to disappearance while engaging in basic life activities or navigating hostile environments. The Center reiterates that understanding these disappearances is impossible without accounting for the extreme duress that drove civilians to risk their lives to reach their homes or aid distribution points.
The blockade imposed on Gaza and severe restrictions on the entry of food and basic supplies forced displaced families to return to evacuated zones to retrieve remaining possessions or head toward aid sites in a desperate bid to sustain their families.
Consequently, hunger and acute food insecurity served as primary drivers forcing civilians into aid waiting zones despite severe security risks, including Zikim, Netzarim, and areas surrounding Khan Younis. Examining cases linked to these locations must account for the coercive humanitarian conditions that precipitated them—chiefly displacement, blockade, food deprivation, and the urgent need to secure basic family necessities.
This highlights the critical need to investigate each case individually, establishing the precise events preceding disappearance and determining whether the legal elements of enforced disappearance are present within the broader context.
Families Face Prolonged Ambiguity and Denial of Information
The Center warns that access restrictions to reliable information represent one of the primary obstacles to documenting these cases and tracing the fate of the missing.
Fieldwork faces mounting complexities, including the sheer volume of reports, destroyed infrastructure, and lack of access to vast areas of the Strip, alongside the complete absence of official information regarding the status of the missing.
The Center highlights that the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has been denied access to all detainees to verify their conditions, deepening the agony of families left with unresolved questions regarding the whereabouts of their children, spouses, parents, and relatives.
The Center affirms that knowing the fate and whereabouts of a missing person is a fundamental right of the family, and that ongoing uncertainty surrounding individuals suspected of being forcibly disappeared constitutes a form of continuous mental suffering for their loved ones.
A Sample Reflecting Structural Patterns, Not Full Volume
The Center stresses that the study’s findings reflect a specific sample of documented cases and cannot be generalized as the total count of enforced disappearances or missing persons in the Gaza Strip, given the scale of the crisis and ongoing obstacles to comprehensive documentation.
Nonetheless, analyzing this sample yields critical indicators for understanding the patterns and contexts of disappearance, helping identify high-risk zones, vulnerable demographics, and recurring scenarios. This contributes to building a human rights database capable of continuous updates as new evidence emerges.
These data points also lay the foundation for subsequent search efforts and detailed legal documentation to support truth-seeking, determine the fate of the missing, and hold perpetrators accountable for documented violations.
Thousands Remain Unaccounted For
Based on field documentation and incoming reports, the Center estimates that the number of individuals suspected of being subjected to enforced disappearance in the Gaza Strip ranges between 2,500 and 3,000 people.
Separately, regarding missing individuals believed to be trapped under the rubble of destroyed buildings, field estimates indicate that between 4,000 and 5,000 people remain unaccounted for, driven by the inability to access vast zones, ongoing security risks, and a severe shortage of heavy machinery required for search and rescue operations.
The Center stresses the importance of distinguishing between these two categories: those suspected of enforced disappearance involve circumstances where information was severed under conditions potentially involving detention, transfer, or concealment by authorities, whereas the latter group consists of individuals believed to remain under rubble following structural destruction.
Urgent Demands to the International Community
In light of these findings, the Palestinian Center for the Missing and Forcibly Disappeared calls on the international community and relevant UN bodies to move beyond statements of condemnation and take binding, practical steps, including:
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Demanding Immediate Disclosure: Exerting immediate pressure to reveal the fate and whereabouts of all individuals suspected of being forcibly disappeared and providing complete information to their families.
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Ensuring ICRC Access: Guaranteeing unhindered access for the International Committee of the Red Cross to all detainees to verify their conditions and locations in accordance with its legal mandate.
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Establishing an Independent International Mechanism: Creating an independent international mechanism to investigate cases of enforced disappearance, document violations, identify perpetrators, and ensure accountability.
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Preserving Evidence: Enhancing efforts to collect, preserve, and secure evidence for future judicial proceedings and accountability mechanisms.
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Logistical Support for Search and Recovery: Providing heavy machinery and urgent logistical support to Civil Defense teams, enabling them to search for the missing and retrieve bodies from under the rubble, preserving the right of families to know the truth and bury their loved ones with dignity.
The Center emphasizes that the issue of the missing and forcibly disappeared in Gaza cannot be treated merely as a statistical file; it is a profound human rights, legal, and humanitarian crisis affecting thousands of families awaiting an answer to the most painful question: Where are our loved ones, and what has become of them?
The Center reaffirms its commitment to documenting cases, updating its database, and sharing verified data with competent international legal and human rights bodies until the fate of all missing and disappeared persons is uncovered, ensuring their families’ rights to truth and justice.
