More than 10,000 people still missing in Gaza, one year after ceasefire

[Cairo Current Affairs] Nearly a year has passed since the ceasefire agreement between Israel and the Islamic group Hamas, and in addition to the more than 73,000 confirmed dead, more than 10,000 people are still missing in the Palestinian autonomous region of Gaza. The families left behind are unable to find closure and are in deep pain.

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◇Anxiety turns into regret

Monzer Gharabry (48), who lives in a tent in the central city of Gaza, responded to an interview. Her eldest son, Mahmoud, then 18, went missing on the morning of June 26, 2024, when he went to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) base in the central city of Daleburgh to pick up medicine for Gharabri.

Picking up medicine was part of Mahmoud's daily routine. On that day, Gharabri, who felt "anxious" about going out amidst intensifying fighting, called out to him, "Don't be late," and Mahmoud stepped out with one hand raised. The image of her back keeps flashing in my mind. ``If only I had stopped that time,'' he said, repeatedly feeling a strong sense of remorse.

Bodies retrieved from the rubble are typically photographed and numbered at health authorities' facilities in Gaza. Gharabri visited the facility frequently and reviewed numerous photos. Bodies that authorities have not been able to identify have only part of the body or are skeletal, making it impossible to distinguish them even in photographs.

Those around her say she is "wasting her life" by continuing to search for Mahmoud. However, Garaburi says that without knowing the whereabouts of her child, ``life has no meaning. I can't even imagine the future.''

◇Information about “Israel kidnapping”

Even after a ceasefire was agreed in October last year, intermittent attacks have continued in Gaza, leaving more than 1,300 people dead since that month. Due to the lack of heavy equipment due to Israeli import restrictions and the risk of unexploded ordnance, the search for the places where many bodies are likely to be left is slow to make progress. Furthermore, in the roughly 60% of Gaza that is still under Israeli control, it is said that searches cannot be carried out in the first place. The lack of DNA testing tools has also been pointed out.

Meanwhile, a Gazan human rights organization released an estimate in August that the Israeli military has removed between 2,000 and 3,500 people from Gaza. Israeli newspapers have reported that the country is storing the bodies of about 1,700 combatants and non-combatants to use as leverage in future negotiations with Hamas.