Six Palestinian children missing in Gaza amid fears of Israeli custody

Ramallah: At least six Palestinian children have disappeared across the Gaza Strip in recent months, with families fearing they may have been detained by Israeli forces during military operations carried out amid severe humanitarian conditions, according to Defence for Children International – Palestine (DCIP).

In its statement, DCIP said the boys went missing between early 2024 and late 2025 in areas repeatedly targeted by Israeli forces and where access to food, water and humanitarian aid has collapsed.

The children have been identified as:

• 16-year-old Saadi Mohammad Saadi Hasanain, who was last seen on  October 22, 2025, at the ruins of his home, where witnesses reported Israeli quadcopter fire. His phone and clothing were discovered the next morning.

• 13-year-old Jamal Nihad Jamil Ayyad, who went missing on October 6, 2025, after attempting to walk back to Gaza City carrying a small bag of belongings. Displaced by earlier attacks, he had insisted on returning home. Searches across hospitals, morgues, and shelters have provided no clues.

• 16-year-old Saifan-Allah Fahd Awni Ayash, who lives with epilepsy and has limited cognitive capacity, disappeared on June 7, 2025, shortly after prayers. His family later received a call from a man identifying himself as an Israeli intelligence officer, saying the boy had been detained. The Red Cross later confirmed he was being held in Asqalan Prison but released no further details.

• 14-year-old Mahmoud Jihad Hasan Abu Warda went missing on July 4, 2024, after leaving Deir al-Balah in an attempt to travel north. Palestinians released from Israeli detention later reported seeing him in prison, though Israeli authorities have issued no confirmation.

• 16-year-old Siraj Ismail Fayeq Abdel Aal disappeared on June 22, 2024, while travelling with relatives through agricultural land to avoid military positions. Israeli tanks reportedly opened fire on the group. Months later, detainees claimed to have heard his name in Ofer Prison.

• 17-year-old Haitham Mohammad Jamil Al-Masri, missing since February 10, 2024, was last seen near the Netzarim checkpoint. Nearly two years later, individuals released from Naqab Prison informed his family that he was being held there.

“Israeli forces are disappearing Palestinian children under the cover of starvation and siege,” said Ayed Abu Eqtaish, accountability programme director at DCIP. “Families are searching for their children with no answers, while Israel continues to conceal the identities and locations of Gaza detainees.”

DCIP says the disappearances reflect a wider pattern across Gaza, where displacement and the collapse of basic services have left families without any information about missing children. The organisation notes that Israeli forces have detained large numbers of Palestinians, including minors, without charge or notification, leaving parents desperate for answers.

Rights groups warn that the arbitrary detention of children violates international law and Israel’s obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which requires that minors are detained only as a last resort and that families are informed of their whereabouts.

With no official communication and Gaza’s humanitarian crisis deepening, families say they remain trapped in uncertainty, waiting for any indication of what has happened to their missing children.

The death toll in the Gaza has risen to 69,187 — most of them women and children — since the start of the Israeli aggression on October 7, 2023. The number of injured has climbed to 170,703, while many victims remain trapped beneath the rubble as ambulance and rescue teams struggle to reach them.