Gaza rescuers begin recovering bodies from rubble of home destroyed in early days of war

Civil Defense crews in the Gaza Strip began recovering the bodies of 13 Palestinians on Tuesday from beneath the rubble of a multi-story home destroyed by an Israeli strike during the early days of the war, Anadolu reports.

The operation is being carried out in coordination with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) at the home of the Gharbiya family in the Al-Katiba area west of Gaza City.

Civil Defense spokesman Mahmoud Basal told Anadolu Agency that a large number of Palestinians were killed in the strike. Some bodies were recovered at the time, while 13 remain beneath the rubble.

The victims include women, children and the elderly, he said.

Basal warned that severe shortages of heavy machinery, equipment, fuel and protective gear continue to hamper efforts to recover thousands of Palestinians believed to remain beneath destroyed buildings across Gaza.

“If we remain in this situation, we are talking about many years” to complete the recovery operations, he said, adding that adequate equipment and resources could reduce the process to a matter of months.

Basal said Civil Defense crews are working with extremely limited resources and at times “with their bare hands,” without adequate protective equipment while handling bodies, human remains and debris.

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He said crews continue their work without salaries, bonuses or compensation and called on the international community, international organizations and human rights groups to provide the heavy machinery and logistical support needed to continue recovery operations.

Tuesday’s operation is part of the second phase of a Civil Defense project launched on July 19 to recover Palestinians buried beneath buildings destroyed during the Israeli war.

The 800-hour phase covers 147 destroyed homes across Gaza City and the northern and central Gaza Strip, where 1,072 bodies are believed to remain beneath the rubble, according to Basal.

During the first phase, launched in November 2025, crews recovered 333 bodies and human remains from 54 destroyed homes and buildings. Limited resources prevented them from reaching around 226 others.

Gaza’s Government Media Office said in October 2025 that around 9,500 Palestinians had been reported missing since the start of the Israeli war, including those believed to remain beneath the rubble and others whose fate remains unknown.

The Israeli army continues to target Palestinians in several areas of the Gaza Strip despite an Israel-Hamas ceasefire that went into effect on Oct. 10, 2025, killing at least 1,258 Palestinians and injuring 4,139 others, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.​​​​​​​

​​​​​​​Israel has killed more than 73,000 Palestinians and injured over 174,000 in a genocidal war since October 2023. The war has also caused widespread destruction, affecting 90% of the enclave’s infrastructure.

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