(NewsNation) — As many as 21,000 children are missing or separated from their families in Gaza, according to a recent report from the humanitarian aid group Save the Children. 

The organization reports that possibly 17,000 children have been separated and another 4,000 are likely buried under the rubble. This report is based on data from the United Nations and the Hamas-run Ministry of Health in Gaza. 

Jeremy Stoner, Save the Children’s Regional Director for the Middle East, said in the report that the missing children are vulnerable and must be found.

“They must be protected and reunited with their families. For the children who have been killed, their deaths must be formally marked, their families informed, burial rites respected, and accountability sought,” Stoner said. 

According to a report from the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, nearly 15,000 other children have been killed in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023. 

“Gaza has become a graveyard for children, with thousands of others missing, their fates unknown,” Stoner said. “ We desperately need a ceasefire to find and support the missing children who have survived, and to prevent more families from being destroyed.”