GAZA (Palestine Foundation Information Center)The Palestinian Center for the Missing and Forcibly Disappeared (PCMFD) has warned that the continued targeting of ambulance and civil defense crews by Israeli occupation forces, along with the obstruction of rescue efforts, will exacerbate the tragedy of the missing by registering new cases and thwarting attempts to address this humanitarian issue.
In a statement on Thursday, the Center reported that it has documented dozens of direct and indirect airstrikes targeting ambulance crews and civil defense centers, resulting in the deaths and injuries of hundreds of field workers, alongside widespread destruction of vehicles, equipment, and operational facilities.
It noted that one of the latest crimes involved Israeli aircraft targeting civil defense crews while they were searching for survivors under the rubble east of Khan Yunis, injuring several of them. Additionally, a bulldozer was targeted while attempting to search for missing persons around the European Gaza Hospital, following intense airstrikes over the past two days that resulted in the deaths of 35 citizens and the injury and disappearance of dozens more.
PCMFD confirmed that the occupation army deliberately targets operational areas during rescue attempts or prevents teams from accessing these areas, leading to a significant increase in the number of victims and missing persons, compounding the suffering of families who are unaware of the fate of their loved ones.
It emphasized that targeting the few remaining crews and equipment is a recurring Israeli tactic aimed at deepening the tragedy of the missing, whose numbers have exceeded 10,000 cases to date.
The Center indicated that its field team has documented over 19 months of Israeli aggression the disappearance of thousands of Palestinian civilians, particularly in areas subjected to ground incursions and complete communication blackouts, amid strong indications of arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, and extrajudicial killings. The occupation authorities deliberately withhold information and deny families of the missing any communication or knowledge about the fate of their loved ones.
It called for urgent action from the United Nations to activate its relevant mechanisms to open an immediate and independent international investigation into these serious violations and to obligate Israel not to obstruct rescue efforts.
It stressed that enforced disappearance constitutes a crime against humanity under international law and cannot be ignored or taken lightly in pursuing its perpetrators.
The Center reiterated its call for the international community to pressure Israel to facilitate the entry of necessary equipment to search for the missing under the rubble and to refrain from obstructing their search efforts, in addition to activating the mandate of the UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances and obligating Israel to disclose the fate of those detained and disappeared during the military aggression in Gaza.
It demanded that the issue of Palestinian missing persons be included in the work of the Human Rights Council and the United Nations General Assembly as an urgent humanitarian file requiring immediate international action.
PCMFD noted that thousands of families in Gaza continue to endure the hell of painful waiting, amid the absence of any effective international entity tracking the fate of the missing and disappeared, emphasizing the need to break the silence and act before it is too late.
