In a recently published report, the British aid group Save the Children has made a startling claim that nearly 21,000 children are missing in Gaza. The report highlights the devastating impact of the conflict, stating that these children are believed to be trapped beneath rubble, buried in unmarked graves, harmed beyond recognition by explosives, detained by Israeli forces, or lost in the chaos of the ongoing crisis.

Save the Children acknowledges the difficulty in collecting and verifying information under the current conditions in Gaza. However, based on their findings, they estimate that at least 17,000 children are unaccompanied and separated from their families. Additionally, approximately 4,000 children are believed to be missing under the rubble, with an unknown number possibly in mass graves.

A separate report by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) earlier this year revealed that Israel has killed over 14,000 children in Gaza since October 7. The report also highlighted the severe malnutrition faced by many children in the region, stating that some do not even have the energy to cry.

The Save the Children report notes that the relentless violence in Gaza since October has resulted in the deaths of over 37,000 people, including thousands of children. This violence followed an attack in Israel by Palestinian armed groups that claimed the lives of over a thousand people, including at least 33 children.

The situation is not limited to Gaza alone, as approximately 250 Palestinian children are also missing in the occupied West Bank as of June 9.

Jeremy Stoner, Save the Children's regional director for the Middle East, has called for an independent investigation into the circumstances surrounding the missing children in Gaza. He emphasizes the urgent need for accountability, stating, "Families are tortured by the uncertainty of the whereabouts of their loved ones. No parent should have to dig through rubble or mass graves to try and find their child's body. No child should be alone, unprotected in a war zone. No child should be detained or held hostage."

Khaled Quzmar, the general director of the child rights organization Defense for Children International Palestine, spoke to Al Jazeera about the devastating impact of the conflict on children in Gaza. He described the situation as a "war against children" and emphasized that the suffering witnessed exceeds that even of the second world war.

International criticism has grown as the death toll continues to rise and the humanitarian crisis worsens in the region. As Save the Children brings attention to the plight of thousands of missing and presumed dead children, the urgency for intervention and resolution becomes increasingly critical.