Israel refuses to bring in heavy machinery and equipment to remove tons of rubble despite a ceasefire agreement
GAZA CITY — Gaza Civil Defence retrieved the bodies of 25 Palestinians, including a female journalist, from the rubble in southern Gaza on Thursday after Israel’s war on the enclave.
In a statement, the agency said that its teams recovered the bodies from the debris of a family house in Khan Younis city. The victims were killed in Israeli attacks in January 2024.
Among the victims were Palestinian journalist Heba Al-Abadla and her mother, the statement said.
Search operations are carried out with simple and primitive mechanisms and some heavy, dilapidated equipment due to Israel’s continued blockade on the enclave, the organization said.
Israel refuses to bring in heavy machinery and equipment to remove tons of rubble despite a ceasefire agreement that took effect on Oct. 10, hindering the recovery of the bodies of Palestinians buried beneath it.
Palestinian families try to identify their loved ones among the bodies through the remaining distinctive marks on the bodies or clothes due to lack of specialized medical equipment.
Gaza authorities have accused Israel of repeatedly violating the ceasefire agreement after the war that has killed more than 71,000 people, mostly women and children, and injured over 171,000 others since October 2023. — Anadolu Agency
