Gaza – Saba:
The Palestinian Center for the Missing and Forcibly Disappeared Persons on Tuesday condemned the ongoing denial of access for civil defense teams to areas where victims have gone missing in the Gaza Strip, and the lack of response by the International Committee of the Red Cross to urgent appeals from Palestinian citizens to rescue their loved ones.
In a statement, the center confirmed the existence of major challenges in documenting the number of martyrs and missing persons due to ongoing Israeli attacks and limited resources.
The center strongly criticized the Israeli occupation forces for preventing civil defense teams from reaching areas where victims are believed to be located.
It also expressed astonishment at the response of the International Red Cross, which has received appeals from numerous parties but has failed to take action.
The center further condemned the Israeli practice of withholding information about forcibly disappeared individuals, leaving families in the dark about the fate of their loved ones and compounding their suffering.
The center called on the United Nations and the international community to launch an independent investigation into the fate of thousands of detainees from Gaza and to hold Israel accountable for crimes committed against them.
It highlighted that thousands of families in Gaza continue to live in torment, waiting for news about their missing relatives, amid the absence of any effective international body tracking the fate of the disappeared.
The center emphasized the urgent need to break the silence and act before it is too late.
According to local estimates and testimonies from residents, Israeli forces have detained more than 11,000 Palestinian citizens since the beginning of the aggression on Gaza, subjecting them to various forms of abuse and torture, and executing a large number of them.
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