Since the ceasefire took effect in Gaza, rescue workers and civilians have started to dig out bodies from the rubble of Israeli bombings.
In the first few days of the ceasefire, at least 200 dead have been found, and the Palestinian Civil Defense estimates that another 10,000 missing people are still buried under the rubble.
Rescuers and family members are working feverishly to find and identify the dead.
– In every street there are dead. In every neighborhood there are people under the buildings, said Abdullah Al-Majdalawi, a 24-year-old civil defense worker in Gaza City.
Civil Defense estimates that it will take at least 100 days to recover all the bodies, but the lack of bulldozers and other essential equipment could prolong the process further.
Many of the recovered bodies are in poor condition, making identification difficult, reports British state broadcaster BBC.
The UN has previously estimated that around 60% of all buildings in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed during the 15 months of fighting. The images now being broadcast around the world show widespread devastation, particularly in northern Gaza.
Palestinian civil defense under pressure
Mahmoud Basal, spokesperson for the Palestinian Civil Defense, says that 48% of civil defense personnel have either been killed, injured or detained during the conflict.
In addition, 85% of the agency’s vehicles and 17 out of 21 facilities are reported to have been damaged or destroyed, further hampering rescue efforts.
According to Palestinian health authorities, more than 47,000 people have been killed in Gaza during the conflict, most of them women and children. Another 111 000 have been injured. However, these figures have not been independently verified.
The ceasefire, which came into force on January 19, has given the more than two million inhabitants of Gaza a much-needed break from the fighting.
At the same time, humanitarian aid has been able to increase significantly, with over 630 trucks crossing the border on the first day – the largest delivery since the beginning of the war.
Although the ceasefire has brought a halt to the bombing, Gaza is facing a huge humanitarian crisis.
The UN World Food Program (WFP) reports that more than two million Gazans are now homeless, without income and completely dependent on food aid for their survival.
