“ICSPR” Issues a Fact Sheet Exposing the Tragic Reality of the Missing and Forcibly Disappeared in the Gaza Strip Since the Beginning of the Israeli Aggression

Date: 8 September 2025

Press Release
“ICSPR” Issues a Fact Sheet Exposing the Tragic Reality of the Missing and Forcibly Disappeared in the Gaza Strip Since the Beginning of the Israeli Aggression

The International Commission to Support Palestinians’ Rights (ICSPR) has issued a new fact sheet, prepared by Dr. Ali Al-Attar – Board Member, revealing through figures, testimonies, and analysis the scale of the humanitarian catastrophe linked to the issue of missing persons and forcibly disappeared individuals in the Gaza Strip since the outbreak of the Israeli aggression on 7 October 2023. The paper documents the devastating repercussions on thousands of families who live in anguish and uncertainty, amid the ongoing genocide and Israel’s deliberate policy of concealment.

Since October 7, the Israeli occupation has continued committing horrific crimes against civilians in the Gaza Strip, in what has been described as the deadliest and most inhumane war of modern times. Unlike the principles of warfare, which stipulate that two armies of comparable strength face each other without targeting civilians or civilian objects, Israel deliberately targeted unarmed civilians and civilian infrastructure from the very beginning. Documented statistics show that the number of martyrs has reached 63,371, including 18,592 children, 12,400 women, and 4,412 elderly people, amid ongoing killings, destruction, and forced displacement.

Yet, the most ambiguous and painful crime remains the issue of the missing and the forcibly disappeared. Official data indicates that 11,200 people are missing, including 4,700 women and children, with no information available about their fate. The Israeli occupation refuses to provide the International Committee of the Red Cross with any information confirming whether they are in detention or not, leaving families on a grueling journey of searching and waiting through photos, lists, and appeals across media and social networks.

Rising Numbers of Missing and Forcibly Disappeared

Reports by UN bodies such as OCHA and Save the Children suggest that the actual number of missing may be as high as 21,000, most of them children. The Palestinian Center for Missing and Forcibly Disappeared Persons estimated the number at around 8,500. Meanwhile, prisoners’ rights organizations documented that Israel has detained over 4,500 people from Gaza without disclosing their whereabouts or conditions, with estimates that 2,000 to 3,000 of them are being held in secret detention under conditions of enforced disappearance.

Six Main Patterns of Disappearance

The study concludes that disappearances in Gaza fall into six main categories:

1. Forcibly Disappeared in Israeli Prisons: Mass arrests during ground invasions, with detainees denied access to lawyers and the Red Cross.

2. Missing During Forced Displacement: Thousands lost during repeated evacuation orders and shootings of civilians along the “Netzarim Corridor.”

3. Missing Under the Rubble: Thousands killed or trapped beneath bombed homes, schools, and hospitals, with rescue operations obstructed.

4. Mass Graves: Discovery of mass graves near hospitals (Al-Shifa, Kamal Adwan, Nasser) and in residential areas, with more than 500 unidentified bodies recovered so far.

5. Body Abductions: Israeli forces exhumed over 80% of Gaza’s cemeteries, seizing corpses and transferring them to Israeli forensic centers.

6. Missing While Seeking Aid: Food distribution centers announced by Israel turned into “death traps,” with over 2,306 civilians killed and more than 300 people missing at aid points.

Severe Social and Humanitarian Consequences

These practices exacerbate the social and economic burden on families, particularly as many of the missing are men and boys who served as primary breadwinners. Women and children are left facing increased poverty, exploitation, and gender-based violence, amid the absence of justice or solutions.

Legal Context

According to the 1949 Geneva Conventions and the 1977 Additional Protocols, warring parties are obliged to protect civilians and disclose the fate of missing persons. The 2006 International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance defines enforced disappearance as a grave violation that may amount to a crime against humanity under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (1998).

Enforced disappearance constitutes a blatant violation of fundamental human rights, including the right to liberty and personal security, the right not to be subjected to torture, and the right to recognition as a person before the law.

Urgent Recommendations

ICSPR calls on the international community to take immediate action and stresses the following:

1. Urging the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to open an investigation into crimes of enforced disappearance.

2. Pressuring Israel to release forcibly disappeared Palestinians and reveal their fate.

3. Establishing an international mechanism to allow entry of rescue teams and equipment to recover missing persons under the rubble.

4. Documenting crimes of mass graves and body abductions and raising them at international forums.

5. Calling on the International Committee of the Red Cross to fulfill its obligations to access detainees and disclose their conditions.

6. Referring crimes of enforced disappearance to the ICC as potential war crimes and/or crimes against humanity.

7. Calling on the UN to establish a fact-finding committee dedicated to enforced disappearances in Gaza.

Read the full paper here