In every street there are dead': Gaza rescuers reckon with scale of destruction

The Gaza Strip experienced its first day of a full ceasefire on Monday, as rescue workers and civilians began to assess the immense destruction suffered by the region. The Gaza Civil Defense said they fear more than 10,000 bodies remain buried under the rubble. Mahmoud Bassal, a spokesperson for the department, which is the main emergency response body in the Gaza Strip, told the BBC that they hope to find the remains of the victims within 100 days, but that could be delayed due to a shortage of bulldozers and other necessary equipment.

New images from Gaza after the ceasefire show the extent of the devastation caused by Israel’s 15-month offensive, particularly in the northern part of the enclave. The UN previously estimated that 60% of buildings across Gaza have been damaged or destroyed. Although the sounds of explosions have been replaced by celebrations since the ceasefire began, the reality facing the people of Gaza remains bleak. According to the UN World Food Programme, the war has left more than two million Gazans homeless, without income, and completely dependent on food aid to survive.

Aid began entering Gaza immediately after the ceasefire on Sunday, with the UN stating that at least 630 trucks entered the area before the end of the day. On Monday, another 915 trucks entered the enclave, which the UN said was the highest number since the start of the war 15 months ago. Sam Rose, acting director of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), said the aid was just the beginning of the challenge to restore life to the Gaza Strip. "We are not only talking about food, health care, buildings, roads, infrastructure, we also have individuals, families and communities that need to be rebuilt," he said, also highlighting that the trauma, pain, loss, grief, humiliation and brutality they have experienced over the past 16 months will be a very long road to overcome.

In Israel, the families of the first three released hostages spoke at a press conference in Tel Aviv on Monday evening. Mandy Damari, the mother of Emily Damari, who holds dual Israeli and British citizenship, said that despite losing two fingers in the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, Emily was “in good spirits” and “on the road to recovery.” Merav Leshem Gonen, mother of Romy Gonen, said: “We got Romy back, but all families deserve the same result, both the living and the dead. We extend our condolences to the other families.” Prior to the press conference, Israeli authorities released new video footage showing 28-year-old Damari, 24-year-old Gonen and 31-year-old Doron Steinbrecher tearfully greeting their mothers after being brought out of Gaza just on Sunday.

If the first phase of the ceasefire holds, 30 hostages will be released from Gaza in the next 40 days in exchange for the release of around 1,800 Palestinians from Israeli prisons. Palestinian health authorities estimate that more than 46,900 people have been killed and more than 110,700 injured in Gaza during the more than 15 months of war. The department did not distinguish between civilians and combatants, but said that most of the dead were women and children, a claim supported by the UN. A study led by the UK and published this month in the medical journal The Lancet suggests that the health department's figures may underestimate the death toll by more than 40%.

The Gaza Civil Defense stated in a statement on Monday that 48% of its personnel were killed, injured, or detained during the conflict, and 85% of its vehicles and 17 of its 21 facilities were damaged or destroyed. Although the risk of airstrikes has temporarily disappeared, the grim work continues for the remaining civil defense personnel. On Monday, photos shared with the BBC by members of the agency in northern Gaza showed them carrying out harrowing work, including retrieving the bodies of dead babies and badly decomposed human remains. Abdullah Majdalawi, a 24-year-old civil defense worker in Gaza City, said: “There are dead people on every street. Every neighborhood has people buried under buildings.” He also said that even after the ceasefire, they had received many calls from people asking them to go and rescue their families buried under the rubble.

Malaka Kassab, 23, a recent graduate who was displaced from Gaza City, told the BBC on Monday that her own family also has members who have not yet been found. “We lost many family members, some are still under the destroyed buildings,” she said. “There are many people under the rubble, everyone knows this.” Kassab’s home in an apartment building was not completely destroyed, but the damage was very severe. She said: “There are no doors, no windows, no water, no electricity, nothing. There isn’t even wood to make a fire. It’s uninhabitable.”

As Israeli forces begin to withdraw from densely populated areas of the Gaza Strip, movement for displaced Gazans remains dangerous. The Israel Defense Forces has warned people not to approach its personnel or facilities, nor to enter buffer zones it has established around the Gaza border and the Netzarim Corridor that divides Gaza from north to south. But many residents are eager to see what remains of their homes earlier than advised. Hatem Eliwa, a 42-year-old factory supervisor from Gaza City, said he was considering walking from his shelter in Khan Younis in the south. Eliwa said: “We were waiting for the ceasefire like people wait to enter paradise. I lost two brothers and their families. I lost cousins, uncles. The only thing I still hope for is to go home.”

There are serious concerns on both sides that the agreement could collapse before the first phase is completed (approximately six weeks), with Israel emphasizing that it reserves the right to resume military operations in Gaza at any time. UN Secretary-General António Guterres said at a UN Security Council meeting on Monday that he welcomed the agreement, calling it “a glimmer of hope” and said that its obligations must be fulfilled. But Guterres warned that the situation in the occupied West Bank was deteriorating, with a sharp increase in attacks on Palestinian villages by Israeli settlers since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. “Senior Israeli officials are openly talking about the formal annexation of all or parts of the West Bank in the coming months,” Guterres said, adding: “Any such annexation would constitute the most serious violation of international law.”