Detained or buried underground: Revealing the disappearance of 2000 Palestinians in Gaza

The Civil Defense in the Gaza Strip revealed shocking figures documenting the crimes of the Israeli occupation army since the beginning of its aggression on the Strip more than 6 months ago, as the retrieval of martyrs’ bodies continues from under the rubble and in mass graves established by the occupation during its incursions into various areas of the Strip.

The spokesman for the Civil Defense in the Gaza Strip, Major Mahmoud Basal, announced on Sunday, April 21, 2024, in statements carried by local media, the disappearance of approximately 2000 Palestinians after the withdrawal of Israeli forces from multiple areas in the Strip.

Basal also explained that more than 150 bodies of martyrs have been retrieved, and about 500 people have been registered as missing in the massacre in Khan Yunis after the occupation’s withdrawal. He expressed concern about the fate of many residents of the Strip who disappeared, indicating uncertainty whether they are detained or buried underground.

The spokesman for the Civil Defense in the Gaza Strip pointed out that the Israeli occupation systematically and deliberately employs enforced disappearance, where it bulldozes dozens of bodies and buries them before withdrawing from any area in the Strip.

Furthermore, Basal affirmed that many martyrs were subjected to stripping before being killed by the occupation, and their bodies were recorded under the label “unknown,” expressing concern about the use of new weapons never before seen in human history.

He also called on international institutions to investigate these grave violations and determine the types of weapons used by the Israeli occupation army in the Strip.

Civil Defense Work in the Gaza Strip This comes as the Civil Defense apparatus in the Gaza Strip announced on Saturday, April 20, that the bodies of 50 Palestinians killed by the Israeli occupation army were retrieved from a mass grave at the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Yunis city in the southern Strip.

The apparatus said in a statement: “Our teams in Khan Yunis province today retrieved 50 martyr bodies from various categories and age groups, which had been collected by the occupation forces and buried collectively inside the Nasser Medical Complex.”

It added: “Our teams are still continuing search and retrieval operations for the remaining martyrs in the coming days, as there are still a large number of them.”

On April 7, the Israeli occupation army announced its withdrawal from Khan Yunis after 4 months of launching a ground operation aimed at retrieving Israeli captives held by the Hamas movement, but it left the city without achieving its objectives.

The Israeli military operation significantly impacted the city, leaving extensive destruction in roads, homes, and infrastructure.

Meanwhile, Palestinians in Khan Yunis had evacuated their homes during the Israeli ground operation to nearby areas in Rafah city and central areas in Deir al-Balah, where they sought shelter in tents and displacement facilities such as centers, schools, and hospitals.

Since October 7 of last year, Israel has waged a devastating war on Gaza, resulting in more than 100,000 martyrs and wounded, most of them children and women, along with immense destruction and famine that claimed the lives of children and the elderly, according to Palestinian and UN data.

Israel continues its war despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire, as well as its appearance before the International Court of Justice on charges of committing “genocide.”