DaysofPal- The Gaza Strip is facing an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe, with more than 10,000 people still missing beneath the rubble of destroyed buildings, according to Colonel Yamen Suleiman, Director of Civil Defense in Khan Younis.
Suleiman said rescue operations remain severely hindered due to a critical shortage of equipment and heavy machinery, leaving emergency teams struggling to reach trapped victims.
“The scale of destruction caused by Israeli bombardments is enormous,” he explained, adding that civil defense crews are working under “impossible conditions” without the specialized tools needed to recover bodies and survivors.
He noted that most roads across the Gaza Strip are completely destroyed, blocking access to heavily bombed areas, while 60 percent of civil defense capabilities have been wiped out as a result of continuous Israeli attacks.
Suleiman further revealed that the Israeli occupation continues to block the entry of rescue equipment and heavy machinery into Gaza, even those intended for retrieving the remains of captured Israeli soldiers, exacerbating the already dire humanitarian crisis that has persisted for over two years.
In southern Gaza, particularly in Khan Younis and Rafah, the situation is catastrophic. Rescue teams are operating with minimal tools, mostly shovels and their bare hands, as fuel shortages and damaged roads have rendered cranes and excavators unusable.
Officials from Gaza’s Ministry of Interior warned that the actual number of missing people could be far higher than current estimates, given the difficulty of reaching many devastated neighborhoods and ongoing communication blackouts in areas such as Tel al-Hawa, al-Zaytoun, and Shujaiya, where entire families remain buried beneath collapsed buildings.
Humanitarian organizations have condemned the ongoing Israeli restrictions on the entry of heavy rescue equipment and international relief teams, calling it a blatant violation of international humanitarian law.
They urged the United Nations and global powers to intervene immediately to facilitate the delivery of lifesaving assistance.
During the Israeli genocidal war, nearly 90 percent of Gaza’s infrastructure and essential services were destroyed. The United Nations estimates the cost of reconstruction at over $70 billion.
Meanwhile, Gaza’s Civil Defense continues to issue urgent appeals to the international community to help rescue those still alive and recover the bodies of victims, as the humanitarian disaster worsens with each passing day under the ongoing blockade.
Shortlink for this post: https://daysofpalestine.ps/?p=68796
