Bodies of 17 more Palestinians recovered from Gaza rubble

The bodies of 17 more Palestinians have been recovered from under the rubble in the Gaza Strip.

Operative Information Center-OMM reports that, according to the Gaza Civil Defense Directorate-General, the second phase of the “Recovery of Martyrs’ Bodies” project is under way.

The second phase is being carried out in Gaza City and the Nuseirat refugee camp.

The bodies of 16 missing people were located beneath the rubble of homes belonging to the Hajji and Nadim families in Gaza City’s Zeitoun and Yarmouk neighborhoods.

Another body was recovered from the rubble of a home belonging to the Al-Warr family in the Nuseirat camp.

Thus, the bodies of 17 more Palestinians presumed missing have been found under the rubble of destroyed homes as part of the project.

The Gaza Civil Defense said search-and-rescue operations are being conducted under difficult conditions. Despite the ceasefire agreement reached on Oct. 10, 2025, the process of recovering bodies from under the rubble remains extremely difficult and slow because the entry of necessary heavy machinery and equipment into the area has not been authorized.

The Gaza Civil Defense Directorate-General launched the second phase of the project on July 19. The phase is expected to cover searches in the ruins of 147 destroyed buildings in northern and central Gaza, as well as in Gaza City.

The second phase includes approximately 800 hours of work and aims to recover the bodies of 1,072 people believed to be buried under the rubble.

During the first phase, which concluded at the end of November 2025, teams conducted 500 hours of searches in the ruins of 54 homes and buildings. The bodies and remains of 333 of the 559 people presumed missing were recovered.

According to Gaza government agencies and Palestinian groups, the first phase of the ceasefire agreement included a commitment by Israel to allow necessary heavy machinery and equipment to enter the area, but that obligation has not been fulfilled.

More than 73,000 Palestinians have been killed and over 174,000 injured in Israel’s attacks on the Gaza Strip, which lasted for nearly two years. About 90 percent of civilian infrastructure has been damaged.

According to United Nations estimates, approximately $70 billion will be needed to rebuild Gaza.