LONDON: Amnesty International on Wednesday called for an urgent investigation into enforced disappearances by Israeli forces from Gaza strip.
The rights body in a statement expressed deep concern about the fate and whereabouts of Palestinians detained by Israeli forces.
On 16 December the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said that it had received numerous reports from northern Gaza about mass detentions, ill-treatment and enforced disappearances of thousands of Palestinians, including children.
Amnesty International’s Crisis Evidence Lab verified photos and video footage showing Israeli forces’ inhuman treatment of detainees in Beit Lahia, a city in northern Gaza. The fate and whereabouts of many of these detainees is still unknown.
The statement said that the Amnesty International is currently probing the reports of mass enforced disappearances of Palestinian detainees by Israeli forces. It asked Israeli military to urgently disclose the fate and whereabouts of everyone that it has detained since 7 October.
Israeli forces must specify grounds of arrest for detainees
It further said that Israeli forces must specify the grounds of arrest for those detained, and make every effort to provide access to families of those in its custody.
Heba Morayef, Regional Director of Amenity International for the Middle East and North Africa said that all detainees must be treated humanely and guaranteed the right to a fair trial and due process.
She stressed that all those detained arbitrarily must be released. She noted that Israel has an appalling track record of impunity for violations by its forces, while demanding for an independent effective investigation into all deaths in custody and reports of enforced disappearance.
The Gaza health ministry reported on Wednesday that at least 20,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed in unrelenting Israeli bombardments since October 7. The casualties include 8,000 children and 6,200 women, underscoring the devastating toll on the civilian population.
The UN has said that some 1.87 million Palestinians, over 80 percent of Gaza’s population, have left their homes.
The Israeli raids have almost destroyed entire neighborhoods in northern Gaza. Israeli ground troops have been facing heavy resistance from Hamas fighters in the area.
