GAZA (Palestine Foundation Information Center) Spokesman for the Palestinian Civil Defense Society (PCDS) in Gaza, Major Mahmoud Basal, confirmed that the Civil Defense crews are continuing their work in recovering the martyrs’ bodies.
“The situation on the ground requires greater capabilities, but the efforts are ongoing and we have made and are still making every effort to provide support in the recovery operations,” Basal stated in press releases on Wednesday.
Basal noted that the situation in the northern Gaza Strip is entirely different from that in other regions because, in addition to the constant bombing that destroyed numerous homes, the region was subjected to extensive damage as a result of the ground operation that lasted for more than a hundred days.
“Recovery operations in the northern Gaza Strip are extremely challenging because the sand, stones, and bodies are mixed together, resulting in a pile of rubble,” PCDS spokesman continued.
He went on: “The recovery operations in the northern Gaza Strip may face unprecedented challenges, as the cooperation of citizens facilitated the recovery operations in other governorates, while a limited number of bodies were recovered (in northern Gaza) compared to the rest of the areas.”
He added that the greatest number of recovery operations took place in the Rafah Governorate, where about 150 martyrs were retrieved from various locations.
Furthermore, he attested that, despite the lack of heavy equipment, which is crucial for speeding up recovery efforts, dozens of martyrs were also retrieved by civilians who actively participated in the search and rescue efforts.
Basal emphasized the significance of heavy equipment reaching the Gaza Strip, stating that no heavy equipment has arrived since the ceasefire’s third day in a row. This significantly impairs the Civil Defense’s capacity to finish recovery efforts and retrieve the martyrs’ bodies from beneath the debris. “We urgently need this equipment so that we can continue to recover the martyrs and save the remaining survivors,” he pointed out.
