Gaza's Civil Defense recovered the bodies and human remains of 47 Palestinian victims on Tuesday from beneath the rubble of a home belonging to the Al-Hassaina family in the Sabra neighborhood, south of Gaza City, nearly three years after an Israeli airstrike buried entire families beneath the debris.

Mohammed Abu Dan, executive supervisor of the Civil Defense's body recovery operations, said rescue crews retrieved the remains of 47 Palestinians from the destroyed family home, while efforts are continuing to locate 36 more victims believed to still be trapped beneath the collapsed building.

Abu Dan said search operations will resume on Wednesday and extend beneath neighboring homes, explaining that the force of the Israeli bombardment likely scattered human remains beyond the original impact site.

The recovery mission is part of the second phase of Gaza's Civil Defense body retrieval program, launched on Sunday to recover the remains of an estimated 8,500 Palestinians who remain buried beneath the rubble of homes destroyed during Israel's military assault on the Gaza Strip.

Victims of the Sabra Massacre

The remains being recovered belong to victims of the Sabra neighborhood massacre carried out on November 23, 2023, when Israeli warplanes bombed a residential block housing members of the Al-Hassaina and Abu Sharia families.

The attack claimed the lives of more than 93 Palestinians, including over 55 members of the Al-Hassaina family, the overwhelming majority of whom were women and children. Entire generations were wiped out as homes collapsed on sleeping civilians.

For more than two and a half years, the victims remained buried beneath thousands of tons of concrete and twisted metal, as Israel's devastation of Gaza and restrictions on the entry of heavy machinery made rescue, recovery and debris removal virtually impossible.

Humanitarian Crisis Deepens Recovery Efforts

Civil Defense officials say recovery operations continue under extremely difficult conditions due to the catastrophic destruction inflicted on Gaza's infrastructure.

Only one excavator is currently operational across Gaza Governorate, severely limiting crews' ability to remove rubble. Rescue teams are also contending with the displacement of human remains caused by the massive explosions, as well as the natural decomposition of bodies after years beneath the debris.

The Civil Defense added that many of its emergency vehicles remain out of service after being damaged during Israel's military campaign and because of a critical shortage of spare parts, fuel and equipment.

Officials warned that these shortages continue to delay recovery operations, prolonging the anguish of thousands of Palestinian families who are still waiting to recover the remains of their loved ones and provide them with dignified burials.

The ongoing recovery efforts underscore the immense human toll of Israel's military offensive on Gaza, where thousands of Palestinians are still believed to lie beneath the ruins of destroyed homes, awaiting recovery long after the bombs have fallen. (ILKHA)