Gaza Civil Defence: Israel preventing us from rescuing people trapped under rubble

Gaza’s civil defence confirmed on Thursday that the Israeli army is preventing its teams from reaching destroyed homes in eastern Gaza City, despite dozens of people still missing under the rubble, some of whom are alive and calling for help.

Civil defence spokesperson Mahmoud Basal said in a statement that “the occupation is refusing to allow our teams to access the targeted residential homes in eastern Gaza City, where missing people are trapped alive beneath the rubble and are calling out for rescue.”

He explained that the Israeli army had intensified its direct attacks in recent days on the residential neighbourhoods of Al-Zaytoun, Al-Shuja’iya, and Al-Tuffah in eastern Gaza, which caused widespread destruction to over 200 houses and buildings and led to a large number of casualties.

“There are still around 82 people missing under the rubble, some of whom are alive and their cries for help continue to reach us,” Basal added.

He continued, “We are still receiving appeals from civilians urging us to reach their missing relatives and rescue them, but unfortunately, the ongoing airstrikes and absence of coordination are making rescue efforts extremely difficult.”

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