Fourteen-year-old Anas al-Sayed disappeared on June 24, 2025, while collecting firewood near Israeli forces in northern Gaza, leaving his family in agonizing uncertainty. His story represents one of approximately 2,900 Palestinian children reported missing since October 2023, according to the Palestinian Centre for the Missing and Forcibly Disappeared. His mother, Naima al-Sayed, carries his clothes in a plastic bag, keeping them close as she waits for any news.
The evening of June 24, 2025, began like many others for Anas al-Sayed. The teenager left the damaged home in Shati refugee camp, north-western Gaza City, where his family had sought shelter, to gather firewood for cooking. It was a common task in an area stripped of basic utilities.
He went with his cousin, a 12-year-old boy, who also needed fuel for his family’s evening meal. Their simple errand quickly turned into a terrifying ordeal. As the two boys collected wood, Israeli artillery fired directly into their vicinity, forcing them to scatter.
Anas ran east, towards the area where Israeli forces were positioned. His cousin fled west, towards the sea, finding cover behind some rocks. He called out for Anas.
There was no reply. Hours later, the younger boy returned alone to the makeshift shelter, unable to account for his cousin’s whereabouts. Naima al-Sayed, Anas’s mother, recounted the chilling moment her nephew arrived back without her son to Middle East Eye, describing the panic that immediately set in.
As darkness fell and Anas still had not returned, his father ventured out to search the dangerous area. An Israeli quadcopter appeared overhead, opening fire near him, forcing him to retreat. He told his wife it was too dangerous.
Naima spent that night awake, counting every minute until sunrise. “I didn’t sleep that night,” she said. “I counted the minutes until sunrise.” At dawn, the 49-year-old mother went out alone, walking for hours. She asked everyone she encountered about her son. Some suggested he might have been detained.
Others feared he might have been killed. She visited al-Shifa Hospital three times that day, checking for his body, but found no trace. Anas had simply vanished.
Anas’s disappearance is not an isolated incident. This family’s anguish reflects a much broader, systemic issue within the war-torn enclave. The Palestinian Centre for the Missing and Forcibly Disappeared (PCMFD) estimates around 2,900 Palestinian children have gone missing across the Gaza Strip since the conflict intensified in October 2023.
These numbers paint a stark picture. Of these children, approximately 2,700 are believed to have been killed, their bodies still buried beneath the immense rubble of destroyed buildings. Another 200 children have vanished completely, their traces lost across various regions of the Strip.
Mona Abunada, a media coordinator at PCMFD, explained the difficulty in categorizing these missing children. “These children have either been detained and forcibly disappeared by the Israeli military at some point during the war, or targeted and killed in a manner that left their remains lost in hazardous areas, including aid distribution points and areas under Israeli military control,” Abunada told Middle East Eye. The problem, she emphasized, is the lack of clarity. “We cannot list them among the killed or the detained. Their fate remains unknown, and some families have told us they would accept any answer, even if their children were killed.
They cannot live with this uncertainty.” Overall, some 8,000 Palestinians remain missing across the Gaza Strip since 2023. For 10 months following Anas’s disappearance, his family contacted several international organizations, including the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Naima said none were able to establish his whereabouts.
Her efforts continued relentlessly. “We started checking the lists of released detainees to see if my son was among them,” she explained. “I look at the ages first. I search for 15, because now he would have turned 15.” When his name does not appear, the family tries to meet with recently released detainees, showing them Anas’s picture. Nobody has confirmed seeing him.
The policy says one thing. The reality says another. While international conventions mandate the humane treatment of detainees and family notification, the practical application often falls short.
Since its ground invasion began in October 2023, the Israeli military has detained thousands of Palestinians. These detentions occur at homes, established checkpoints, and areas near military deployments. Israeli authorities continue to withhold information regarding those held, including children.
They have declined requests from the ICRC for details on detainees’ whereabouts. This lack of transparency creates immense challenges for families and humanitarian groups alike. Patrick Griffiths, an ICRC spokesperson in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, confirmed the organization has had no access to Israeli detention facilities since October 2023.
They have also not been notified of those detained. “That means that’s essentially a black hole in what we know,” Griffiths told Middle East Eye, “and in information we are able to facilitate sharing with families who are looking for loved ones.” This blackout deepens the agony for families like the al-Sayeds. Another significant limitation, Griffiths noted, especially in Gaza, involves the recovery of bodies. Thousands of bodies lie beneath the rubble across the Strip.
The process to remove this rubble remains severely restricted. “There are no material means to do so,” Griffiths stated. “There are only one or two functioning bulldozers to clear rubble in the part of Gaza where people can live.” This makes any recovery effort incredibly slow. Furthermore, the work is extremely hazardous. “We know that the rubble across Gaza is also strewn with explosive hazards, which makes the work of clearing rubble to try and find those who might have been killed incredibly dangerous, and incredibly slow work,” he added. What this actually means for your family is that the search for a loved one, whether alive or deceased, becomes an almost impossible task, prolonged by both policy and practical impediments.
For Anas’s family, the uncertainty itself is a form of suffering. “I wish we knew whether he was dead or alive,” Naima said, her voice heavy with despair, “just to know whether we are looking for a detained child or a body.” The lack of closure is a constant torment. “I don’t know whether he is in prison, hungry, tortured, or sleepless, or whether his body has decayed.” When they were forced to flee Gaza City southwards, Naima took Anas’s clothes with her. She keeps them in a plastic bag, close to where she sleeps in their makeshift tent in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip. “I feel like I am going crazy,” she confessed. “I keep doing things that are incomprehensible. The anguish I feel is unbearable.” This simple act of holding onto his garments underscores the profound human cost of the conflict, a daily reminder of a life interrupted and a future unknown.
Why It Matters: The disappearance of thousands of children in Gaza represents a profound humanitarian crisis, extending far beyond immediate casualty counts. For families, the indefinite wait for news of a missing child creates a unique, enduring psychological burden, often more difficult than grieving a confirmed death. This situation also challenges the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law, which require parties to a conflict to account for missing persons and facilitate communication with families.
The lack of access for organizations like the ICRC to detention facilities, combined with the practical difficulties of recovering bodies from rubble-strewn areas, highlights a systemic failure to protect civilians and provide basic human dignity during wartime. This crisis affects not only those directly involved but also reverberates across the region, adding to instability and fueling calls for greater accountability from international bodies and governments. Key Takeaways: – Around 2,900 Palestinian children have gone missing in Gaza since October 2023, according to PCMFD estimates. – Most missing children are believed to be dead under rubble, while 200 have vanished with no trace. – Israeli authorities withhold information on detainees, denying ICRC access to detention facilities. – Families face immense psychological distress due to prolonged uncertainty and lack of closure.
The search for Anas and thousands of other missing children continues amidst formidable obstacles. International organizations like the ICRC will likely persist in their calls for access to detention centers and information on detainees’ whereabouts. Efforts to recover bodies from under the rubble will remain slow and dangerous, demanding significant resources and safer conditions.
Families like the al-Sayeds will continue their desperate, daily search for any fragment of information. The global community will watch for any shifts in policy that could bring transparency to the fate of the missing, or provide the means for families to find answers and begin to heal. The human cost of this conflict, especially for its youngest victims, remains a pressing and unresolved issue.
Key Takeaways
— - Around 2,900 Palestinian children have gone missing in Gaza since October 2023, according to PCMFD estimates.
— - Most missing children are believed to be dead under rubble, while 200 have vanished with no trace.
— - Israeli authorities withhold information on detainees, denying ICRC access to detention facilities.
— - Families face immense psychological distress due to prolonged uncertainty and lack of closure.
Source: Middle East Eye