Over 38,000 bodies recovered and thousands still missing as Gaza’s Civil Defense faces immense challenges in the wake of Israel’s genocidal assault.
The spokesman for the Civil Defense in the Gaza Strip, Major Mahmoud Basal, revealed on Monday that 2,842 bodies had evaporated due to the Israeli bombing, leaving no trace behind.
He explained in a press conference held in Gaza City that civil defense teams continue to recover the decomposed bodies of dozens of Palestinians from rubble or streets, which had been difficult to access because of the Israeli attacks, widespread destruction, and lack of resources, particularly the absence of heavy machinery.
Major Basal stated that civil defense crews across the Gaza Strip had recovered over 38,000 bodies and treated more than 97,000 wounded since the onset of the Israeli war on Gaza on October 7, 2023.
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He also called for Arab and foreign civil defense teams to be allowed entry into the besieged Gaza Strip to assist in the search for over 10,000 bodies still trapped under the rubble.
The Civil Defense spokesman reported that 99 Civil Defense personnel had been killed and 319 injured, many with permanent disabilities, due to Israeli targeting during the 16 months of the ongoing violence.
He added that the Israeli army had detained 27 civil defense workers, including Ahmed Al-Kahlout, director of civil defense in northern Gaza, and their fate remains unknown.
According to Major Basal, the Israeli military had destroyed 17 out of 21 civil defense headquarters and centers in Gaza, and damaged or destroyed 85 percent of its vehicles.
Since October 7, 2023, with US support, Israel has been accused of committing genocide in Gaza, resulting in over 157,000 Palestinian dead and wounded, the majority of whom are women and children.
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Israel’s Genocide
The Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip, which began on October 7, 2023, has led to a humanitarian crisis of unprecedented scale. As the death toll among besieged and starved Palestinian civilians continues to rise daily, Israel is currently facing charges of genocide against Palestinians before the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, at least 47,035 Palestinians have been killed, and 111,091 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7, 2023.
The toll is expected to rise further, with at least 11,000 people still unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes across Gaza.
The war, which Palestinians call “Operation Al-Aqsa Flood,” began after a military operation carried out by Hamas on Israeli territory. Israel reports that 1,139 of its soldiers and civilians were killed during the initial attack on October 7. However, Israeli media have raised concerns that a significant number of Israeli casualties were caused by ‘friendly fire’ during the assault.
Human rights organizations, both Palestinian and international, have reported that the overwhelming majority of the casualties in Gaza are women and children. The ongoing violence has also exacerbated an acute famine, with thousands of children among the dead, highlighting the severity of the humanitarian disaster.
The war has displaced nearly two million people from their homes across Gaza, with the majority of the displaced forced into the already overcrowded southern region of the Strip. The population in Gaza remains trapped in the ongoing conflict, with little access to basic necessities such as food, water, and medical care.
(PC, AJA)
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