350 Palestinians reported missing under rubble in Gaza over two weeks

The Palestinian Centre for the Missing and Forcibly Disappeared has reported that 350 people have gone missing under the rubble in Gaza over the past two weeks, describing the situation as a crime that requires international intervention.

In a statement released on Tuesday and shared with the Palestinian Information Centre, the organisation said that around 20 members of the Arafat family went missing on Monday after an airstrike destroyed a five-storey building in the Al-Zarqa area of Al-Tuffah neighbourhood, northeast of Gaza City.

The statement also noted that contact was lost last Monday with around 30 people from the Abdu and Musalam families, as rescue teams were unable to reach them due to restrictions imposed by Israeli forces.

READ: Israel cuts power, water to UN agency for Palestinian refugees

The centre added that Israeli forces continue to block the entry of rescue teams, equipment, and fuel into eastern Gaza, worsening the humanitarian crisis and reducing the chances of finding survivors.

It called on the United Nations and the Red Cross to take immediate action and put pressure on Israel to allow safe access for rescue teams and to launch an international investigation into what it described as the deliberate obstruction of search operations.

The centre also urged media outlets and human rights organisations to keep the issue in focus and to document these acts, which it said amount to systematic violations and crimes against humanity.

READ: International Protection Group: Children in Gaza lose limbs daily as humanitarian situation worsens