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More than 11,200 Palestinians remain unaccounted for in Gaza
The Palestinian Ministry of Justice said that more than 11,200 Palestinians in Gaza have been listed as missing or forcibly disappeared since October 7, 2023. The group includes people believed to be trapped under the rubble, those whose whereabouts were lost during military operations and forced displacement, and detainees whose fate remains unknown.
Families in Gaza are trying to find out whether relatives who disappeared during the war are alive, being held in detention or have died. International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances has once again highlighted the demands of thousands of families seeking information about their relatives’ fate.
The Palestinian Ministry of Justice said that more than 11,200 Palestinians have been listed as missing or forcibly disappeared since October 7, 2023. According to the ministry, more than 4,700 of them are women and children.
The figure does not cover only cases of enforced disappearance. It also includes people believed to be trapped under the rubble, those whose whereabouts became unknown during military operations or displacement, and people suspected of being detained whose fate has not been disclosed.
Nader Najjar’s family has waited for news for more than two years
Malak al-Kahlout, who lives in a tent in the al-Mawasi area south of Khan Younis, has been unable to learn the fate of her husband, Nader Najjar, for more than two years. Najjar, 39, lived in the Jabalia refugee camp and worked as a football coach before the war began.
Najjar moved to Khan Younis with his family during the early stages of the war. On June 24, 2024, he went to the Shaqush area northwest of Rafah to find food for his six children. No one has heard from him since.
Nader’s brother, Mohammed Najjar, said his brother had previously gone to an aid distribution area and returned to his family, but that gunfire and attacks took place in the area this time. He said the family searched hospitals, field medical centers and among the bodies, but could not find any information about Nader.
Mohammed Najjar said the family had contacted the International Committee of the Red Cross, the Israeli human rights organization Hamoked, international and rights organizations, journalists and other families. In addition to Nader, the Najjar family does not know the whereabouts of another brother, Salah, whom they said Israel detained at Kamal Adwan Hospital about two years ago.
Mohammed Najjar also said that his mother and 23 members of his family had been killed in the war, their home had been destroyed and some relatives had been injured. He said Nader’s disappearance meant that his wife and children had lost both a father and the person who provided for the family.
Three sons disappeared from the same family in different ways
Three sons in the family of Umm Yusuf al-Masri, who was displaced in Khan Younis, were lost in different ways because of the war. Al-Masri said one of her sons had been killed, another had been detained by the Israeli army, and her third son, named Jihad, was missing.
According to al-Masri’s account, Jihad disappeared in February 2024 while trying to return north from a displacement area in Rafah. At the time, he was near a checkpoint established by the Israeli army at the Netzarim Corridor in central Gaza.
The family does not know whether Jihad was detained, killed or managed to reach another location. Al-Masri said their only wish was to learn where their children were and what had happened to them.
National team assigned to track missing people
The Palestinian Ministry of Justice began operating the National Team for Tracking Missing and Forcibly Disappeared Persons on April 21 to monitor cases involving missing and forcibly disappeared people. The team aims to bring together records and search efforts, identify individuals, and follow up on cases with local and international institutions.
The International Committee of the Red Cross said it had received more than 9,900 inquiries concerning missing people in Gaza and the West Bank. The committee said it was collecting information and communicating with authorities to determine the fate of those missing.
In January, the committee said that thousands of families in Gaza were waiting for news of missing relatives, that many people were believed to be trapped under the rubble, and that limited forensic capacity was making it difficult to identify the bodies.
UN and Palestinian authorities use different data scopes
United Nations experts said in July 2025 that approximately 4,000 Palestinians, including children and older people, had been missing since October 7, 2023. The experts said widespread patterns of enforced disappearance of Palestinians had been documented in Gaza and other parts of the occupied Palestinian territory, and called for the fate and whereabouts of all missing people to be disclosed.
The difference between the figure of more than 11,200 announced by the Palestinian authorities and the approximately 4,000 cited by UN experts stems from the use of different methods and classifications. The total provided by the Palestinian authorities refers to a broader group that also includes people believed to be trapped under the rubble and those whose whereabouts were lost during the war.
The United Nations defines enforced disappearance as the deprivation of a person’s liberty following their arrest, detention or abduction by state authorities or by people acting with the support, authorization or acquiescence of the state, combined with a refusal to acknowledge the deprivation of liberty or to provide information about the person’s fate or whereabouts.
International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances was established by a 2010 resolution of the United Nations General Assembly and has been observed since 2011. Held every year on August 30, the day draws attention to families’ right to learn the fate of their relatives.
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