Israeli Strikes Target Southern Lebanon as Gaza Families Desperately Seek Lost Loved Ones
GAZA/SOUTHERN LEBANON – As the Israeli army reported carrying out strikes in southern Lebanon today, November 18, 2025, a parallel tragedy unfolds in Gaza, where families continue to search for and mourn loved ones buried under the immense debris of war. The destruction, now entering its third year, has left an estimated 10,000 bodies trapped beneath 61.5 million tonnes of rubble – the equivalent of 6,000 times the weight of the eiffel Tower, according to UN data analyzed by Agence France-Presse (AFP).
The plight of these families is exemplified by the story of a 43-year-old man from the Zeitoun neighborhood in eastern Gaza City, who survived the bombing of his five-story home on December 25, 2024. “there were thirty deaths,” he told AFP, “my wife, my children, my mother, my father and others… It is only me who survived.” His sole wish is “to be able to bury them.“
However, access to the remains is blocked by the sheer volume of destruction and a critical lack of heavy equipment. “lift the roofs and the tons of cement that cover the bodies,” explains Mahmoud Bassal, spokesperson for Gaza’s civil defense organization.
The disparity in international response fuels further anguish. “The world is unfair, we see bulldozers digging around to remove Israeli prisoners while no one cares about the thousands of our martyrs,” says Amal Abdel aal, 57, whose son and brother remain buried in Gaza City since the war’s onset.”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 echoes this sentiment, desperately appealing for help to locate his wife, son Samir, and daughter Lana, who are still trapped under the ruins of their home, destroyed in early October. “Why doesn’t the world treat palestinian bodies the same [que ceux des otages israéliens] ?” he asks. “My wife, my son Samir and my daughter Lana are still here… I want to appeal to the whole world: help me find them.“
