GAZA, (The Palestine Foundation Pakistan)
The National Committee for the Missing Persons of the Israeli genocidal war in the Gaza Strip called on Thursday for the immediate intervention of the international community and the entry of specialized international teams to recover the bodies of thousands of Palestinians from beneath the rubble of homes destroyed by the Israeli occupation army.
Alaa al-Din al-Aklouk, the committee’s spokesperson, said during a press conference in Gaza City that the Strip has become “the largest mass grave in the world,” noting that around 10,000 Palestinians remain missing under the debris.
He explained that these martyrs were buried beneath their homes, which have turned into mass graves, without their bodies being retrieved and their final dignity preserved.
Al-Aklouk added, “We express our deep shock and strong condemnation of the absence of an effective role by international organizations and humanitarian bodies, particularly those concerned with missing persons, amid the worsening humanitarian catastrophe.”
He pointed out that the committee has followed “with deep pain” what he described as the double standards in the international community’s handling of Palestinian victims’ bodies compared to the significant attention given by various parties to retrieving the bodies of Israeli captives, “which reflects grave injustice and clear bias against Gaza’s victims.”
Al-Aklouk called on Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to “activate all political, legal, and logistical channels to push for addressing the issue of the missing and to care for their families.”
He urged the international community to allow the entry of specialized teams, heavy machinery, and technologies to locate bodies beneath the rubble and conduct DNA tests to identify the victims, rather than leaving them among the ranks of “the unidentified missing.” He also called for the acceleration of reconstruction efforts, beginning with clearing the debris and recovering the bodies.
The Israeli occupation authorities continue to prevent the entry of heavy equipment and machinery necessary for debris removal and body recovery.
In previous statements, Ismail al-Thawabta, Director-General of the Government Media Office, described Israel’s ban on such equipment as a violation of the humanitarian protocol of the ceasefire agreement, which stipulates allowing the entry of hundreds of these machines.
This comes as Israel rushes to recover the remains of its own captives in Gaza, while the Hamas Movement, under the ceasefire terms, is also conducting searches to locate and retrieve them from under the rubble.
According to Hebrew media, Israel allowed the entry of some equipment more than a week ago to search for the bodies of its captives, showing no concern for the thousands of Palestinian bodies still trapped beneath the ruins.
Meanwhile, Gaza’s Ministry of Health announced that around 513 bodies of Palestinians who were killed in the streets and roads have been recovered since October 11.
The US-backed Israeli war of genocide in Gaza that continued for two years has resulted in over 68,000 martyrs, more than 170,000 wounded, and the destruction of 90% of the Strip’s infrastructure other than around 10,000 missing.
