Gaza City – A year after devastating Israeli strikes leveled homes across the Gaza Strip, thousands of Palestinians remain unable too bury their loved ones, trapped beneath an estimated 61.5 million tonnes of rubble – the equivalent of 6,000 Eiffel Towers. The immense scale of destruction, resulting from two years of conflict, is compounded by a critical lack of heavy equipment needed to clear the debris and recover the bodies.
On December 25, 2024, a resident of the Zeitoun neighborhood in eastern Gaza City lost thirty family members when his five-story house was bombed. “there were thirty deaths,” he told Agence France-presse (AFP), “my wife, my children, my mother, my father and others… it is only me who survived.” He, like many others, desperately seeks the dignity of burial. “The only thing that matters to me is being able to bury them,” he said.
Civil defense officials estimate around 10,000 bodies remain trapped under the rubble. Mahmoud Bassal, spokesperson for Gaza’s civil defense association, explained the challenge: “lift the roofs and the tons of cement that cover the bodies.”
The disparity in recovery efforts has fueled anguish. Amal Abdel aal, 57, whose son and brother have been buried in Gaza City since the war began, expressed her despair: ”The world is unfair, we see bulldozers digging around to remove Israeli prisoners while no one cares about the thousands of our martyrs.” She fears the desecration of their remains. “They never leave my thoughts. My heart twists to imagine that dogs could reach their bodies and eat them. I will only be relieved when I have buried them, even if there is only one bone left.“
Iyad Rayan echoed this sentiment,pleading for international assistance.”Why doesn’t the world treat Palestinian bodies the same [que ceux des otages israéliens]?” he asked. “My wife, my son Samir and my daughter Lana are still here… I want to appeal to the whole world: help me find them.” His home was destroyed in early october.
