Rescuers find dozens of bodies in Gaza rubble amid Israel-Hamas ceasefire

As the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas entered its second day, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have discovered dozens of bodies under the rubble and are searching for thousands more that may be buried. Medical sources told Al Jazeera on Monday that 97 Palestinian bodies had been found in the destroyed city of Rafah in southern Gaza since the ceasefire took effect. The ceasefire went into effect at the same time that Hamas released the first three of its captives, and Israel released 90 Palestinians from its prisons.

According to local health authorities, Israeli attacks on Gaza have killed more than 47,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured more than 111,000 others. However, the Palestinian Civil Defense estimates that approximately 10,000 bodies may be buried under the rubble throughout Gaza. Mahmoud Bassal, a spokesman for the Palestinian Civil Emergency Department in Gaza, stated that at least 2,840 bodies have already decomposed beyond any trace.

Meanwhile, many displaced residents returning to their homes have found their communities almost unrecognizable due to the destruction of more than 15 months of war. Mohammed Gomaa, who lost his brother and nephew in the war, told Reuters, “(The extent of the destruction) is shocking, and countless people are shocked by the destruction that has befallen their homes. This is complete destruction, total destruction. It's not like an earthquake or a flood, no, no. What happened was a war of extermination.”

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the Security Council on Monday that more than 630 aid trucks entered the Gaza Strip on Sunday, with at least 300 of those trucks going to the north of the enclave, where the UN says famine is imminent. As more aid flows into the Palestinian enclave, residents have flocked to markets, with some expressing joy at falling prices and the arrival of new foods like imported chocolate. Aya Mohammed-Zaki, a displaced woman from Gaza City who is sheltering in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, told Reuters, "Prices have come down, the war is over, and the crossings are open to more goods."

Attention is also beginning to turn to the reconstruction of the coastal enclave, which was devastated by the Israeli military in retaliation for the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel. According to Israeli statistics, those attacks killed 1,139 people and about 250 were taken captive to Gaza. A UN damage assessment report released this month said that it could take 21 years and cost up to $1.2 billion to clear the more than 50 million tons of rubble left by Israeli bombings. A UN report last year said that rebuilding destroyed homes in Gaza could take until at least 2040, or even decades. It is believed that the debris contains asbestos, as some of the refugee camps that were attacked during the war were known to be built with this material.

A UN Development Programme official said on Sunday that Gaza's development had regressed by 69 years due to the conflict. Residents and officials in Gaza said on Monday that the ceasefire appeared to be largely holding, although there have been some incidents of violence. According to the Palestinian news agency WAFA, two Palestinian civilians, one of whom was a teenager, were killed by Israeli snipers in Rafah. On Monday, another eight Palestinians, including children, were wounded in Israeli gunfire in Rafah. The Israeli military said that they fired warning shots at people who approached soldiers deployed under the terms of the ceasefire.

Meanwhile, Mohamed Elmasry, a professor of media studies at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, said that Israeli media is now increasingly focused on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's handling of the war in Gaza. "They're calling it a complete failure," he told Al Jazeera, highlighting Netanyahu's failure to deliver on his promise to eliminate Hamas. "Now he has to see Hamas fighters on all the TV screens escorting Israeli captives to their vehicles in their military uniforms," the scholar added. "He is watching Hamas continue to rule Gaza and oversee the security situation, the humanitarian aid situation, and all elements of the ceasefire. Hamas has not been eliminated, and this is very embarrassing for Netanyahu.”