12-year-old Palestinian child disappeared at humanitarian aid entry point in northern Gaza
Name(s):
Musab Hussein Ziad Elyan
Status:
Disappeared
Year of birth:
2013
Profession:
Student at the preparatory level
Nationality:
Palestinian
Date of arrest:
Musab Elyan disappeared on August 2, 2025, after heading to the Zikim area in northwestern Gaza in the hope of bringing food back for his family. On September 6, 2025, an official inquiry was submitted to the Israeli army. Although a response was later received, it contained no information about his fate or whereabouts, which remain unknown to this day.
Musab Hussein Ziad Elyan is a 12-year-old Palestinian student at the preparatory level residing in Gaza.
With the spread of famine following Israel’s closure of Gaza’s crossings and the suspension of humanitarian aid, Elyan’s family suffered from severe malnutrition. When limited aid deliveries partially resumed to Gaza, Elyan started going to the Zikim area, where humanitarian convoys enter the Gaza Strip from the north, in the hope of bringing food back for his family.
Despite repeated attempts by his parent to stop him, due to the extreme danger in that area, where starving civilians have reportedly been shot and killed, Elyan continued to go, sometimes returning with food, other times empty-handed.
At around 4:30 p.m. on August 2, 2025, Elyan left his displacement tent in the al-Fayrouz Towers area of northern Gaza City and went alone toward the Zikim area in northwestern Gaza. He has not been seen since.
Following his disappearance, Elyan’s family searched the Zikim area and hospitals, contacted the relevant authorities, including the Civil Defense, the Ministry of Health, and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), to no avail.
On September 6, 2025, an official inquiry was submitted via email to the Israeli army requesting information about Elyan’s whereabouts. In its response dated September 9, 2025, the Israeli army stated that it had no information regarding his case.
On September 30, 2025, MRG submitted an urgent appeal to the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (UN WGEID), urging them to intervene with the Israeli authorities to clarify Elyan’s fate and whereabouts.
| Name(s): |
Musab Hussein Ziad Elyan
|
| Status: |
Disappeared
|
| Year of birth: |
2013
|
| Profession: |
Student at the preparatory level
|
| Nationality: |
Palestinian
|
| Date of arrest: |
|
Musab Hussein Ziad Elyan is a 12-year-old Palestinian student at the preparatory level residing in Gaza.
With the spread of famine following Israel’s closure of Gaza’s crossings and the suspension of humanitarian aid, Elyan’s family suffered from severe malnutrition. When limited aid deliveries partially resumed to Gaza, Elyan started going to the Zikim area, where humanitarian convoys enter the Gaza Strip from the north, in the hope of bringing food back for his family.
Despite repeated attempts by his parent to stop him, due to the extreme danger in that area, where starving civilians have reportedly been shot and killed, Elyan continued to go, sometimes returning with food, other times empty-handed.
At around 4:30 p.m. on August 2, 2025, Elyan left his displacement tent in the al-Fayrouz Towers area of northern Gaza City and went alone toward the Zikim area in northwestern Gaza. He has not been seen since.
Following his disappearance, Elyan’s family searched the Zikim area and hospitals, contacted the relevant authorities, including the Civil Defense, the Ministry of Health, and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), to no avail.
On September 6, 2025, an official inquiry was submitted via email to the Israeli army requesting information about Elyan’s whereabouts. In its response dated September 9, 2025, the Israeli army stated that it had no information regarding his case.
On September 30, 2025, MRG submitted an urgent appeal to the United Nations Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances (UN WGEID), urging them to intervene with the Israeli authorities to clarify Elyan’s fate and whereabouts.
