GAZA CITY: Gaza’s civil defence agency said on Saturday that rescue teams have recovered the remains of 112 more people from beneath the rubble in southern Gaza City, highlighting the continuing humanitarian challenges after more than two years of conflict.
According to the agency, the remains were recovered from the Sabra neighbourhood following an intensive 136-hour search and recovery operation, with rescuers carrying out much of the work by hand due to limited access to heavy equipment.
Civil defence officials said the recovered remains included 40 children, 38 women, and seven people with physical disabilities. Rescue teams believe many more victims remain trapped beneath the debris.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) supported the nearly two-week-long operation.
“For more than two and a half years, thousands of families in Gaza have lived in pain and uncertainty, waiting for the chance to recover the remains of their loved ones, mourn them, and lay them to rest with dignity,” said Amani Al-Naouq, an ICRC spokesperson in Gaza.
She described the search for missing persons and the recovery of human remains as a critical humanitarian priority.
Colonel Mohammed Abu Dan, who is overseeing the operation for Gaza’s civil defence agency, said search teams believe 157 additional bodies are still buried beneath the rubble in the Sabra area.
He said the recovery effort remains extremely difficult, with rescue workers manually digging through collapsed concrete structures and twisted metal because of the destruction and limited resources.
Thousands of people remain unaccounted for across Gaza, with many believed to be buried under buildings destroyed during the conflict.
International media organizations, including AFP, have noted that restrictions on access to Gaza and limitations on reporting make it difficult to independently verify casualty figures and developments on the ground.
According to the Hamas-run Ministry of Health in Gaza, more than 73,300 people have been killed since the conflict began. The United Nations has previously stated that the ministry’s overall casualty figures are generally considered credible, while noting that independent verification remains challenging during the ongoing conflict.
The current war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas launched an attack on southern Israel that, according to Israeli authorities, killed 1,221 people and resulted in the abduction of 251 hostages. Israel subsequently launched a large-scale military campaign in Gaza that continues to have significant humanitarian consequences.
