Abdulraouf Ayman Abdulhamid al-Hems is a 16-year-old Palestinian 10th grade student residing in Gaza.
On the evening of June 21, 2025, at approximately 6:00 p.m., he left his place of displacement, in Qandil School near Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, and went to an aid distribution point operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation* on al-Teena Street in the Morag area, north of Rafah. He subsequently disappeared, and all contact with him was lost. His family searched for him in hospitals and other possible locations and informed the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) about his disappearance, but they were unable to find him.
On July 16, 2025, Al Mezan submitted an official inquiry via email to the Israeli army regarding his arrest and place of detention. However, no response has been received until this moment and al-Hems’ fate and whereabouts currently remain unknown.
On July 28, 2025, Al Mezan and MENA Rights Group (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 Abdulraouf al-Hems’ fate and whereabouts.
They also requested that the UN Working Group address a communication to the GHF, and to the relevant U.S. authorities, in light of the mounting number of cases of enforced disappearances occurring at the aid distribution sites operated by the organisation.
*The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) is a U.S. and Israeli-backed organisation criticised by the UN and civil society organisations for operating military-controlled aid distribution sites where Palestinians seeking humanitarian aid have faced daily gun fires and mass casualties. Since the GHF started operating in May 2025 until July, over 700 Palestinians have been killed at the vicinity of GHF sites, and almost 4,000 have been injured.