At least 8,000 people are still missing in Gaza

Although nearly three months have passed since the ceasefire agreement came into effect in the Gaza Strip, the tragedy of the missing and forcibly disappeared by Israel continues to worsen, amid a harsh humanitarian reality and a clear inability to deal with the scale of the disaster.

Thousands of Palestinian families are living in a state of agonising uncertainty, without answers or certainty, amid a severe lack of resources and declining international intervention.

Israel has left at least 8,000 people missing in Gaza

The Palestinian Centre for the Missing and Forcibly Disappeared confirmed in a press statement that the number of missing persons is at least 8,000 to date. Some are known to still be under the rubble of their destroyed homes, while others have been completely cut off, with no knowledge of their fate, whether they are alive, dead or forcibly detained.

The centre considered that the continuation of this situation constitutes ‘collective psychological torture’ for the families and a flagrant violation of their right to knowledge, dignity and justice, noting that the families are living in a state of ‘suspended mourning’, as there can be no consolation without a body and no stability without the truth.

The Centre explained that the absence of heavy equipment and the prevention of the entry of specialised forensic and identification teams, including genetic testing, further complicates the case, especially with a large number of bodies decomposing due to time and harsh conditions.

It stressed that the crisis is no longer technical but political, given the lack of international will and responsibility, in addition to deliberate Israeli restrictions that exacerbate the disaster.

The world must act – but will it?

The Centre called on the international community to place the issue of missing persons at the top of the international agenda and to take urgent action, including sending specialised fact-finding missions comprising experts in forensic medicine and identification, and bringing in the necessary equipment to remove rubble and recover remains immediately.

It also called on the International Committee of the Red Cross to play its full role by visiting places of detention and enabling families to obtain reliable information about the fate of their children. He stressed the need to compel Israel, as the occupying power, to disclose the whereabouts of all those forcibly disappeared, to hand over their bodies unconditionally, and to open independent investigations into allegations of executions under torture.

In the same context, Mahmoud Basal, spokesperson for the Civil Defence in the Gaza Strip, described the recovery of bodies from under the rubble as one of the most complex humanitarian issues in the Strip.

9,000 bodies trapped

He said that around 9,000 bodies remain under the rubble due to a severe shortage of heavy equipment, explaining that the Civil Defence has only two excavators provided by the International Committee of the Red Cross, one operating in the south of the Strip and the other in the north, which is not enough to meet even the minimum requirements.

Basal pointed out that if the situation remains as it is, it could take years to complete this task due to the slow pace of work and the scarcity of resources. He also warned of the daily risks that destroyed buildings pose to the lives of residents, especially during low pressure weather systems, explaining that the Civil Defence has recorded more than 20 deaths as a result of building collapses since the ceasefire, in addition to the complete collapse of more than 50 buildings and the partial collapse of dozens more.

Basal stressed that the lack of equipment needed to remove buildings in danger of collapse exacerbates the risks, considering that the continuation of this situation is a clear violation of humanity.

He called on the international community to provide urgent support, including supplying the Civil Defence with twenty bulldozers, twenty excavators and twenty trucks, to allow work to be carried out simultaneously in several areas and to complete the task within a period not exceeding three months instead of many years.

The situation in Gaza is still perilous

For its part, the General Directorate of Civil Defence announced that it was suspending calls for assistance in removing hazards from damaged buildings due to fuel shortages and equipment damage. It explained that it had managed to remove the danger from some 3,445 buildings and houses since the ceasefire began last October, while some 1,560 distress calls remain pending, which crews are unable to respond to due to a lack of fuel and equipment, which originally covered only 30% of the total calls.

The situation on the ground in the Gaza Strip remains extremely fragile, with the tragedy of the missing overlapping with the challenges of recovering the bodies of the dead and removing hazards, amid successive humanitarian crises.

Both the Palestinian Centre for the Missing and Civil Defence emphasise that the right of families to know the fate of their children cannot be delayed any longer, and that talk of a genuine ceasefire remains incomplete as long as thousands of families live in the darkness of loss, without truth or justice.

Featured image via the Canary