Identifying the remains of Palestinians killed in Gaza is becoming increasingly difficult due to the absence of specialised forensic equipment, the enclave's Forensic Evidence Department (FED) has warned.
Mahmoud Ashour, the FED's spokesperson, said it is now "extremely difficult" to identify skeletal remains or bodies that have undergone advanced decomposition using conventional methods.
“The absence of specialised forensic equipment, particularly DNA testing capabilities, has become a critical obstacle,” Ashour said, leaving many families in prolonged distress and uncertainty over the fate of their loved ones.
“In Gaza, even the dead sometimes go missing, buried beneath destroyed homes and streets,” Palestinian bodybuilding champion Hussein Oda told The New Arab.
Oda lost his three children after Israeli forces attacked Jabalia refugee camp last year. He last saw them alive on 17 May as he prepared to move them from their home following Israeli threats to target the area.
Their bodies were buried under rubble after the strike, and some of their remains have yet to be recovered.
“They were ordinary children with dreams, laughter and fear like any other children in the world,” Oda said. “I trained my body for years, but nothing prepares a father to carry the weight of losing his children.”
More than 14,000 Palestinians remain missing in Gaza, with thousands believed to be trapped beneath collapsed buildings, according to local authorities.
"More than 20 members of my family are still missing, presumed dead under the rubble of the mosque," Amir Dagmash told The New Arab.
The 28-year-old lost more than 50 relatives, including his father, when an Israeli air strike hit the Dagmash family mosque in Gaza City in November 2023. The building was being used as a shelter by his extended family after they fled their homes.
Dagmash said there was little doubt about what had happened to them.
“There is no mystery about where they are. The only tragedy is that we cannot reach them,” he said, adding that hope diminishes with time.
"Rubble has hardened, conditions have worsened, and priorities have shifted to surviving the ongoing war," Dagmash said. "Without a ceasefire and proper rescue equipment, recovering their remains feels increasingly impossible.
"Still, we hold onto a small hope that one day we can give them a dignified burial."
Oda expressed similar feelings.
"I hold on to very little hope. Every day that passes makes it harder," he said, pointing to the scale of destruction and the lack of fuel and equipment needed for recovery efforts. “Still, as a father, I cannot stop hoping to at least retrieve their remains and give them a proper burial."
As time passes, forensic officials warn that identifying remains will only become more difficult the longer bodies stay buried beneath rubble.
The Forensic Evidence Department has called on the international community, the United Nations and humanitarian organisations to pressure Israeli authorities to allow the entry of DNA testing equipment and other forensic tools, and to support the establishment of proper identification mechanisms.
"Facilitating this support is a humanitarian imperative and an essential step toward alleviating the suffering of affected families and upholding human dignity," Ashour said.
Both Oda and Dagmash described a deep sense of abandonment, citing the lack of meaningful investigations, recovery efforts or accountability as Israel’s war continues.
"Like many families in Gaza, we were left alone with our grief," Dagmash said. "Our dead became numbers in a long list, and our missing were quietly forgotten.
"Behind every number is a family like mine,” Oda added. “I feel abandoned, not only by the world, but by the silence that follows our pain."