GAZA, (PIC)
They aren’t just numbers. They represent tens of thousands of stories of loss, grief, and intense pain carried by families in Gaza. Over 20,000 children are still missing, with their fate unknown. Another number close to that is of unaccompanied children, as the tragedy of families in Gaza continues with the ongoing aggression since October 7th.
Ahmad Hammad, who lost most of his family in a bombing on Deir al-Balah last January, says: “My grief for my martyred wife and children is one thing, but my grief for Hadi is on another level. He’s the only one we couldn’t retrieve from under the rubble that night. I don’t know if there’s anything left of his small body to bury or if he was vaporized by the explosion and fire.”
In this painful story, Hadi was just 5 years old. He is one of the thousands of missing children, either buried under the rubble of their destroyed homes or detained by the occupation forces. Some were captured from different parts of the Gaza Strip during the ground invasion that began on October 7th, while others’ fates remain unknown, according to official and civilian sources.
21,000 missing children in Gaza
The British organization “Save the Children” reported that approximately 21,000 children in Gaza have gone missing due to the Israeli war on the Strip, according to their latest estimates. Many of these children are either trapped under the rubble, detained, buried in unknown graves, or separated from their families.
The report also highlighted that recent displacement due to the Israeli attack on Rafah has led to more children being separated and increased pressure on families and communities caring for them.
Posters for missing children
UNICEF estimates that at least 17,000 children in Gaza are unaccompanied or separated from their families, each with a heartbreaking story of loss and grief.
In an unprecedented scene before the war, posters searching for missing children have become common among the tents of the displaced and in some populated areas of Gaza.
Abdullah Abu al-Qumsan, who lost his young son in the war, sets out every morning to post search notices for his son Fouad, who went missing after being injured in a bombing in the Jabalia refugee camp in October 2023, according to a UN report.
Abu al-Qumsan recounts that he was at his relatives’ home in the camp on October 31, 2023, when a 2:30 PM airstrike hit, killing his parents. He and his son Fouad were trapped under the rubble for half an hour until they were rescued.
He adds that he was holding his conscious son, who was then taken for treatment, but he didn’t know which hospital he was taken to.
After searching through morgue refrigerators with no success, he found details in the archives of Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City matching his son’s description: “An unidentified child with minor injuries was brought to the hospital.”
Abu al-Qumsan says he still doesn’t know who took his child or who has cared for him since then. He has tried every possible means to find his son Fouad, using media and social media, and recently resorting to paper posters with Fouad’s picture, spreading them among the tents and streets, hoping for any clue about his son’s fate.
During his nine-month search for his son, Abdullah has encountered similar and even more challenging cases of families looking for their children.
Fouad’s picture isn’t the only one spread among the tents. The UN news camera has spotted many other posters searching for children missing during the war and the displacement crisis in Gaza.
Every now and then, posts appear on social media searching for missing people, some of whom are children who lost their way back to their displacement tents.
Other shocking figures
UNICEF estimates that at least 17,000 children in Gaza are unaccompanied or separated from their families, making up 1% of the total displaced population of 1.7 million. This estimate is likely low due to the difficulty in collecting and verifying information under the current security and humanitarian conditions.
Urgent search for missing children
A child protection specialist from “Save the Children” mentioned that the situation in Gaza worsens daily for children who have lost their families or are left without care in the current conditions. “We are working with local partners to identify and assist unaccompanied children, but there is no safe place for these children in Gaza,” he said.
He explained that families hosting these lone children face significant challenges in meeting their basic needs such as shelter, food, and water.
WCNSF children and unknown fates
Some orphans in Gaza face the possibility of becoming unknown identities. Many were found at such a young age that they couldn’t speak or identify their parents and families, or the psychological trauma or injuries they suffered made it impossible for them to do so. These children are referred to as “WCNSF” (Wounded Child with No Surviving Family). The number of these children is unknown, and they face an uncertain future if their families cannot be identified.
James Elder, UNICEF spokesperson, told The Guardian: “Hospital wings are full of wounded children with no surviving family. We had a 14-year-old girl who had just come out of a war zone in Gaza City, shocked, silent, and covered in blood, with no one left (of her relatives).”
Elder emphasized that the frequent occurrence of such cases underscores the random and brutal nature of the Israeli aggression on Gaza, wiping out entire families.
