Estimates from the Palestinian Ministry of Health indicate that approximately ten thousand Palestinian martyrs remain buried under the rubble of their homes, their bodies yet to be recovered.
Brigadier General Rami al-Aidi, head of the Civil Defense in the Central Governorate, explained that teams are working to retrieve the remains of seven martyrs from the al-Nawasra family from the house where the Israeli occupation forces committed a massacre that claimed the lives of around seventy people.
He added that the work is being carried out under an agreement with the Red Cross as part of the “House of Bodies” project, aimed at recovering martyrs from under the rubble.
He further stated that the number of missing martyrs in the Central Governorate is estimated at around 280 bodies, while the total number of missing persons in the Gaza Strip is approximately ten thousand, requiring work at hundreds of sites.
The Israeli occupation forces recently permitted the entry of a limited number of vehicles to search for the remains of missing Israelis in Gaza; however, these vehicles are not permitted to be used in the operations to recover the thousands of missing Palestinians who remain buried under the rubble.
Meanwhile, the ceasefire in Gaza suffered another violation with at least 21 Palestinians killed in Israeli airstrikes, according to the Gaza Civil Defense. Israel claimed its raids were in response to a Hamas attack, announcing the elimination of five members of the movement.
The Gaza Strip has witnessed an escalating Israeli airstrike campaign since Wednesday, after Israel accused Hamas of violating the ceasefire agreement that went into effect on October 10, following US pressure after two years of war.
The Israeli army said in a statement that it “struck targets” belonging to Hamas after shots were fired at its soldiers and across the yellow line behind which the army withdrew under the ceasefire agreement.
Gaza Civil Defense spokesman Mahmoud Bassal reported that Israeli airstrikes on the northern and central parts of the Strip on Saturday resulted in the deaths of 21 people and left several others wounded.
Gaza Health Ministry spokesman Khalil al-Daqran said that “more than 20 wounded” were taken to Al-Aqsa Hospital, “most of them women and children.” He noted that many of the wounded “suffered head and chest injuries.
” The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned in a statement the “escalating Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip,” considering it a “flagrant violation of all humanitarian and international laws and norms, as well as the ceasefire agreement.” The ministry called for “urgent international intervention to stop the massacres against civilians.” For its part, Hamas accused Israel of violating the ceasefire.
