A leading human rights organization in Gaza has reported that more than 9,500 Palestinians have been declared missing or unaccounted for since the beginning of Israel’s genocidal campaign on the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023, with thousands of women and children among the missing.

In a detailed report released Tuesday titled “Missing Palestinians in the Gaza Strip Amid the Genocidal War,” Al-Dameer Association for Human Rights said the scale of disappearances reflects the devastating human toll of the ongoing bombardment and ground operations across the territory.

According to the report, the largest category of missing persons—more than 8,100 individuals—are believed to be trapped under the rubble of destroyed residential buildings following widespread Israeli airstrikes on densely populated civilian areas. Many of these individuals remain unreachable due to the scale of destruction and continued insecurity on the ground.

The organization also documented more than 250 cases of Palestinians who disappeared while attempting to reach humanitarian aid distribution points or traveling along aid convoy routes. Some of these routes have been linked to operations involving the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which is reportedly staffed by US security contractors.

Additionally, the report recorded more than 350 Palestinians who crossed the separation fence on October 7, 2023, whose whereabouts remain unknown amid a lack of official information from Israeli authorities.

Another 800 cases involve Palestinians detained by Israeli forces while moving between northern and southern Gaza or during ground operations, with families still awaiting any information about their fate.

Al-Dameer stated that these disappearances represent serious violations of international humanitarian law, including provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention, Additional Protocol I, the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, and the Rome Statute, which classifies enforced disappearance as a crime against humanity.

The organization stressed that, as the occupying power, Israeli authorities bear full responsibility for clarifying the fate of the missing. It called for the immediate disclosure of information, the return of remains, and unrestricted access for international humanitarian and forensic teams to all relevant sites.

The report further urged the establishment of a comprehensive DNA database to assist in identifying victims, the release of detainees whose status remains unclear, and the activation of international accountability mechanisms to investigate alleged violations.

Human rights advocates say the findings underscore the deepening humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, where Palestinian authorities report more than 245,000 people killed or injured, hundreds of thousands displaced, and widespread destruction of civilian infrastructure since October 2023, leaving entire communities devastated and unaccounted for. (ILKHA)