Specialized teams recovered the bodies of 69 martyrs from various locations in the Jabalia refugee camp and the city of Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip, as part of ongoing search operations for the remains of martyrs still buried under the rubble of buildings destroyed by the Israeli occupation during its war on the Gaza Strip.
The recovery operations included the Al-Hakoura area and the vicinity of schools in the Jabalia refugee camp, as well as various locations in Beit Lahia. The teams found the bodies of martyrs from the Abu Warda, Nabhan, Al-Yazji, Masoud, and Al-Dibs families, whose funerals are scheduled for the day after tomorrow.
These operations come amidst the continued suffering of thousands of Palestinian families who remain unaware of the fate of their loved ones. Palestinian Civil Defense estimates indicate that more than 8,000 martyrs remain buried under the rubble of destroyed buildings in the Gaza Strip.
The total number of missing persons in Gaza is estimated to exceed 10,000, including those who disappeared during the waves of displacement, those believed to be detained by the occupation, and those buried without identification, according to estimates from various sources that do not represent a unified final count.
Limited Resources and Field Risks
Civil defense teams and specialized personnel face significant difficulties in continuing search and recovery operations due to the massive scale of destruction and the severe shortage of heavy machinery, specialized equipment, and fuel. This forces them to carry out some of their work with rudimentary means, sometimes even using their hands to remove rubble and reach bodies.
The challenges are not limited to the lack of equipment; they also include the risk of collapse of damaged buildings and the difficulty of accessing a number of sites that were bombed and destroyed. This hinders search operations and slows down the recovery of the martyrs’ bodies.
Despite the occupation targeting government institutions and destroying a large number of their headquarters and equipment, local teams continue their field efforts to search for the missing and recover the martyrs, and work to document the bodies and identify their owners in preparation for handing them over to their families.
