Thousands of Palestinians in Gaza forcibly disappeared since 2023

The Cradle posted the following article on Aug. 29, 2026.

Between 2,500 and 3,000 people are estimated to have suffered enforced disappearance in the Gaza Strip throughout the ongoing Israeli genocide, according to a report released today by the Palestinian Center for Missing and Forcibly Disappeared Persons.

Issued on the eve of the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, the analytical study highlights widespread patterns of missing individuals distinct from the estimated 4,000 to 5,000 people believed trapped or buried beneath the rubble of destroyed buildings.

The center’s findings are drawn from an in-depth sample of 317 documented cases submitted by families, revealing that 95.27 percent of the victims were male, including 41 children and 17 seniors.

Geographically, Gaza City recorded the highest concentration of disappearances, followed by northern Gaza, Khan Yunis, central Gaza and Rafah.

The circumstances surrounding these cases vary widely, spanning home raids, neighborhood sieges, displacement checkpoints, humanitarian aid queues and attacks on medical or journalistic personnel.

Highlighting that the crisis compounds earlier figures indicating over 11,200 missing or disappeared Palestinians since October 2023, the organization urged immediate international intervention.

The rights group demanded that authorities disclose the fate of all missing persons, grant the International Committee of the Red Cross immediate access to detainees and establish an independent international investigation mechanism to ensure accountability.