DaysofPal – The Palestinian Center for the Missing and Forcibly Disappeared (PCMFD) has voiced deep concern over the disappearance of nine-year-old Jalal Ahmed Al-Bursh in northern Gaza, urging international humanitarian organizations to intensify efforts to determine the child’s fate and secure his safe return.
According to a statement issued by the Center, Jalal has been missing since Saturday, May 30, 2026. The child reportedly left to play with his siblings near the so-called “Yellow Line,” close to where his displaced family is currently living, before disappearing in the area.
The Center said Jalal’s condition places him at exceptional risk. According to official testimony provided by his family, the boy has autism, is non-verbal, and is unable to recognize or respond to surrounding dangers, making the circumstances of his disappearance especially alarming.
Jalal’s family is currently sheltering in a tent in the Bir Al-Na’ja area of northern Gaza after being displaced by the ongoing conflict. His father, Ahmed Al-Bursh, told the Center that their tent is located approximately one kilometer from the Yellow Line. He said the family believes Jalal walked toward the restricted area after receiving information from the owner of a grocery store about 100 meters from the line, who reported that the child had purchased a bottle of juice before continuing in that direction.
The Center said extensive search operations have been carried out over the past several weeks. Civil defense and forensic teams were called to inspect a nearby building after foul odors were detected, raising fears that the child might be trapped beneath the rubble. However, forensic investigators later confirmed that the odor originated from a dead animal.
Describing the family’s ordeal, Ahmed Al-Bursh said they have searched continuously for more than 35 days without success.
“The family is living in immense psychological torment because of this incident, and we have not stopped searching for him for a single moment,” he said. “What made this matter even more bitter was a phone call from a human rights organization informing us that they had found him. Yet, when we went for the anticipated meeting, we discovered that the child was not our son, plunging the family back into a severe state of grief.”
The father also recounted reports from local residents who stated they had seen a child resembling Jalal crossing the Yellow Line in the Al-Omari and Al-Jaran areas toward Al-Qarm and Salah al-Din, east of Jabalia.
“I received testimonies from citizens stating that a child was seen crossing the Yellow Line,” he said. “They were unable to catch up with him due to the danger of those zones, but they confirmed that my son Jalal’s photo matches the child they witnessed.”
The PCMFD warned that enforced disappearances continue to be documented despite the ceasefire declared in October 2025. It said areas adjacent to the Yellow Line remain the scene of repeated disappearances, while security risks and restrictions imposed by Israeli forces prevent authorities from conducting comprehensive search and investigation operations.
The Center also highlighted the severe humanitarian conditions in Gaza, noting that widespread destruction has reduced habitable land to roughly 30 percent of the Strip. With virtually no housing alternatives available, thousands of displaced families have been forced to live near the Yellow Line despite the significant dangers, leading to repeated deaths, injuries, and disappearances.
The Center estimates that about 1,500 people have been forcibly disappeared in Gaza since the war began in October 2023, including about 200 missing children.
The PCMFD called on international and humanitarian organizations to take immediate action to determine Jalal Al-Bursh’s fate and facilitate his safe return to his family. It also urged the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and relevant United Nations mechanisms to pressure Israeli authorities to disclose the fate of all forcibly disappeared Palestinians believed to be in Israeli custody or clarify the whereabouts of those killed whose bodies are still being withheld, in accordance with international law and human rights standards.
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