Gaza rescuers recover 12 more bodies from rubble, total hits 75

Gaza Civil Defense teams recovered the bodies and remains of 12 Palestinians from beneath the rubble of homes destroyed in Gaza City, bringing the number recovered from the site to 75, the agency said Thursday.

The latest recoveries were made in the Al-Taj Square area as search teams continued operations beneath collapsed homes in the Yarmouk neighborhood for a 12th consecutive day.

The operation is being conducted by Civil Defense teams in Gaza governorate in cooperation with an Egyptian committee as part of the second phase of the agency’s “Recovery of Martyrs’ Bodies” project, launched July 19 to locate and recover Palestinians believed to be buried beneath buildings destroyed during the war.

The second phase covers destroyed homes in Gaza, northern Gaza and central Gaza governorates and is scheduled to involve about 800 working hours. Civil Defense figures indicate that teams are searching 147 destroyed homes where the remains of an estimated 1,072 people are believed to be buried.

The recovery effort has been slowed by severe shortages of heavy machinery and other equipment needed to clear the vast quantities of rubble. Palestinian authorities have said the cease-fire agreement that took effect in October 2025 provided for heavy equipment to enter Gaza to support debris removal and the recovery of bodies, but the machinery available to rescue teams has remained limited.

The latest operation is part of a broader effort to account for thousands of Palestinians who remain missing. Gaza’s Government Media Office said in October 2025 that about 9,500 people had been reported missing since the war began, including people believed to be trapped beneath destroyed buildings and others whose whereabouts remained unknown.

The first phase of the recovery project began in late November 2025. Civil Defense teams recovered about 333 bodies and sets of remains belonging to an estimated 559 missing people beneath 54 homes and buildings, according to figures released by the agency.

The scale of the task remains immense. In recent weeks, Civil Defense teams have continued to recover groups of remains from destroyed residential buildings across Gaza, while a shortage of excavators, bulldozers, trucks and other specialized equipment has restricted the pace of operations. Earlier in the second phase, Civil Defense officials said teams had only very limited machinery available for the work.

The continuing recovery effort has also highlighted the dangers posed by Gaza’s war-damaged buildings.

A separate seven-story residential building in Gaza City collapsed this week, killing at least 20 people and injuring others, according to Palestinian authorities and Reuters. Rescue teams worked with limited equipment as people remained trapped beneath the debris.

Gaza’s Health Ministry said Thursday that 73,821 Palestinians had been killed and 174,897 injured since Oct. 7, 2023.

It said 1,386 people had been killed and 4,784 injured since the cease-fire took effect, while 831 bodies had been recovered during that period. The ministry also said some victims remained beneath rubble and on roads that rescue teams could not reach.

The figures are issued by Gaza health authorities and cannot be independently verified in real time because of the conditions in the enclave.

DAILYSABAH