DaysofPal – The General Directorate of Civil Defense, in cooperation with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), announced the launch of search operations to recover the bodies of Palestinians killed beneath the rubble of small residential homes in Gaza City. These homes were destroyed by Israeli forces on top of their residents during the ongoing and intense assault on the Palestinian people.
The announcement was made during a press conference held by the Civil Defense Directorate in Gaza City on Monday.
According to a statement read during the conference, the recovery operations involve the Arab Authority for the Reconstruction of Gaza, alongside the Emergency Committee, the Rapid Response Administration, forensic evidence teams, forensic medicine departments in Gaza Governorate, the Ministries of Health and Religious Endowments, families of the missing victims, and representatives of tribes and clans.
Civil Defense teams are set to begin search operations in the targeted area beneath the rubble of a home belonging to the Abu Ramadan family. The house had sheltered approximately 60 displaced individuals, including children, women, and elderly people.
The General Directorate of Civil Defense confirmed that its teams will continue searching for bodies beneath the rubble within the scope of available projects. It noted, however, that it is awaiting the participation of additional parties to provide bulldozers, excavators, and heavy breakers to complete the humanitarian mission of recovering missing bodies.
The directorate stressed that Civil Defense in the Gaza Strip does not possess any heavy rescue equipment. It stated that its crews are carrying out their duties using only simple, rudimentary tools, after Israeli forces destroyed most of the agency’s equipment and operational capabilities during the war.
Civil Defense officials explained that the agency requires at least 20 bulldozers and 20 excavators to enable its teams to recover thousands of bodies from beneath the rubble, allowing families to bury their loved ones with dignity, in accordance with the teachings of Islam.
The directorate raised pressing questions regarding the significance of the international community’s silence, the double standards applied to the concept of “humanity” in Gaza, and the contradiction between these positions and the principles of human rights and international humanitarian law.
It emphasized that international humanitarian law, human rights laws, and the Geneva Conventions call for respecting the bodies of the deceased and preserving their dignity. These legal frameworks also include provisions requiring the clarification of the fate of the missing and the identification of their locations.
The Civil Defense renewed its appeal to the International Civil Defence Organization and the guarantors of the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip to urgently intervene and allow the entry of heavy machinery needed for search and recovery operations.
It also called on international humanitarian organizations to take part in implementing humanitarian projects that would assist in recovering the bodies of those killed.
Finally, the directorate urged residents and families of the victims to cooperate in helping identify their loved ones. It warned that some bodies may be decomposed, their features altered, or reduced to remains, while in other cases no trace may be found due to the immense force and destructive power of the explosives used in the bombardment of these homes.
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