According to official data, more than 37,000 Palestinians have been killed in that territory since the start of the IDF offensive, while more than 85,000 have been injured.
The Non-Governmental Organization Save of Children estimated the number of missing children at 21,000. (Photo: PL)
More than 10,000 Palestinians are missing in the Gaza Strip as a result of the Israeli military campaign, which began more than eight months ago, denounced the Civil Defense spokesperson in the territory, Mahmoud Basal.
Speaking to Qatari television Al Jazeera, the spokesman criticised the recent deliberate attacks by the Israeli army on at least five sites overcrowded with displaced people in the coastal enclave. Basal accused the Israeli Armed Forces (IDF) of adopting a new policy of intensive bombing of homes as evidenced by its raids on the Al-Tuffah and Al-Shati neighbourhoods in the northern Gaza City.
On repeated occasions, Gazan authorities warned that thousands of civilians are buried under buildings destroyed by Israeli bombs and pointed out the impossibility of recovering the bodies due to the war, lack of equipment, fuel and personnel.
Two days ago, the Non-Governmental Organization Save of Children estimated at 21,000 the number of minors who are missing, buried under rubble, detained or buried in unmarked graves in the Strip.
Our protection teams reported that the latest displacements caused by the Israeli offensive against the southern city of Rafah separated more children, which increased tension in the families and communities that care for them, he warned.
It is almost impossible to collect and verify figures in that coastal enclave, but it is estimated that at least 17,000 of them are separated from their families and it is likely that another four thousand are buried under the rubble, he said.
He noted that many are missing, including an unknown number who were detained and transferred to Israeli jails and detention centers.
According to official data, more than 37,000 Palestinians have been killed in that territory since the start of the IDF offensive, while more than 85,000 have been injured.
