Iran Press/ West Asia: Finding the 7,000 Palestinians believed buried under collapsed buildings is becoming increasingly difficult.
51-year-old Yasser Abu Shamala is a Palestinian whose house was destroyed by Israeli forces on October 26, demolishing the building and killing his parents, brothers, and cousins. The strike killed 22 people with many more trapped under the rubble.
Every morning, Abu Shamala goes to the place where his family’s house once stood in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip. He starts digging through the rubble with his bare hands, lifting pieces of concrete to try to find members of his family buried under the debris, According to a documented report by Al-Jazeera.
Despite multiple failed attempts, Abu Shamala refuses to quit. He hopes he can bury them in a cemetery with proper Islamic rituals.
Abu Shamala’s family members are among the more than 7,000 people who are reported missing in Gaza, including 4,900 children and women. The missing are believed to be trapped under bombed buildings, according to the Gaza Health Ministry and civil rescue officials in Gaza.
Israel has dropped thousands of bombs on Gaza since October 7. The war is believed to be one of the most destructive and fatal in recent times, having killed close to 21,700 people in Gaza wounding nearly 57,000 Palestinians.
A recent report by the UN indicated that 70 percent of the buildings in Gaza have been destroyed.
Gaza’s media office also in a statement announced that 80 percent of rescue vehicles and equipment had been destroyed in Israeli attacks on the enclave.
As the war continues, finding and rescuing those trapped under the rubble is becoming increasingly difficult.
205
Gaza death toll rises to more than 21,600 people
