DaysofPal- International Women’s Day was marked with grief and unanswered questions in the Gaza Strip as mothers of missing Palestinians gathered to demand information about the fate of their loved ones who disappeared during the Israeli genocidal war.
Dozens of women assembled outside the offices of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Gaza City, calling for clarity about relatives who went missing amid the Israeli war that has left tens of thousands dead and unaccounted for.
The gathering, organized by the “Mothers of the Missing” movement, included a press conference attended by families of the missing, journalists, activists, and representatives of civil society organizations.
During the event, participants announced the launch of a formal campaign aimed at tracking missing persons and pressing for answers about their fates.
Protesters held signs reading, “The missing are not numbers… they are sons awaited by their mothers,” and “Mothers are still waiting for news of their children.”
A large banner carried the message: “On International Women’s Day, Gaza’s mothers ask the world, ‘Where are our missing sons?'”
Faten Abu Al-Kas, a member of the Mothers of the Missing movement, said families remain deeply concerned about the continued uncertainty surrounding the fate of their relatives.
“The issue of the missing is not only humanitarian; it is also a legal and human rights matter,” Abu Al-Kas said during the press conference.
She explained that her son, Ahmed Adnan Abu Al-Kas, 27, from the Jabalia Refugee Camp in northern Gaza, disappeared during the early months of the war, and the family has received no information about him since.
She added that depriving families of knowledge about the fate of their loved ones represents a clear violation of fundamental human rights and international laws concerning the protection of civilians, prisoners, and missing persons.
“Every day that passes without the truth being revealed deepens the suffering of mothers and families,” she said.
On behalf of the movement, Abu Al-Kas called on local and international media outlets and human rights organizations to highlight the issue and pressure authorities to reveal the fate of the missing and provide justice for their families.
She also demanded the immediate and transparent disclosure of information about all missing persons, the formation of an independent investigative committee with participation by human rights experts, and access for families to official records related to missing individuals. Abu Al-Kas stressed the need for legal accountability for those responsible for enforced disappearances or negligence in addressing the issue.
The movement also urged international bodies, particularly the International Committee of the Red Cross, to intensify efforts to provide families with lists of prisoners and the names of bodies released by Israeli occupation, as well as any information that could help determine the fate of missing individuals.
Activists emphasized the need for transparency in the transfer and identification of bodies in coordination with internationally recognized legal and humanitarian standards.
Amjad Al-Shawa, head of the Palestinian NGO Network, said efforts would continue to locate missing persons and secure the return of those who may still be alive.
He called on international organizations to cooperate with the Mothers of the Missing movement. He proposed establishing a national registry of missing persons within a formal body dedicated to the issue.
“This case must be raised internationally as a legal, humanitarian, and human rights issue,” Al-Shawa said, pledging support from civil society organizations for the families’ campaign.
Bisan Abu Jiab, the mother of missing Palestinian Kareem Hammad, said the gathering on International Women’s Day was meant to renew solidarity with mothers who lost sons or husbands, as well as with families of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons.
“We raise our voices before the world and international institutions, demanding attention to the humanitarian suffering of families of the missing,” she said.
Abu Jiab added that the missing persons file is an inseparable part of the war that has devastated Gaza since October 2023. Despite the passage of time, she said, many families still do not know what happened to their relatives amid a lack of information and continued secrecy surrounding detainees held in Israeli prisons and secret detention facilities.
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