Gaza rescuers reckon with scale of destruction

On the first day of peace in Gaza on Monday, rescue workers and civilians began to reflect on the extent of the destruction in the Strip.

Gaza’s Civil Defense Agency – which is part of the emergency response – said it feared more than 10,000 bodies were still buried under the sea.

Spokesman Mahmoud Basal told the BBC that he hopes to recover the dead within 100 days, but that may be delayed due to a shortage of bulldozers and other essential equipment.

New images from Gaza after Sunday’s cease-fire show the damage caused during 15 months of Israeli attacks, especially in the north of the strip.

The UN has previously reported that 60% of homes in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed.

Although the sound of shelling was replaced by celebrations as the cease-fire began on Sunday, the reality of what Gazans are facing remains poignant.

According to the UN World Food Program (WFP), the war has left over 2 million people in Gaza homeless, penniless, and completely dependent on food aid to survive.

Aid began pouring into Gaza shortly after the ceasefire ended on Sunday and the UN said at least 630 trucks had entered the Strip before the end of the day – the highest number since the start of the war 15 months ago.

Sam Rose, who is the director of UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees in Gaza, said the aid is just the beginning of the challenge of bringing life back to life.

“We are not talking about food, health care, housing, roads, infrastructure, we have people, families, communities that need to be rebuilt,” he said.

“The pain, the suffering, the loss, the grief, the humiliation, the abuse that they have endured over the last 16 months – this is going to be a very long road.”

In Israel, the families of the three hostages freed in the first exchange spoke at a press conference in Tel Aviv on Monday night. Mandy Damari, mother of Emily Damari, a dual citizen of Britain and Israel, said Emily was in “spirit” and “on the road to recovery” despite losing two fingers in a Hamas attack on 7 October 2023.

Meirav Leshem Gonen, Romi Gonen’s mother, said: “We found our Romi, but all families have to bear the same consequences, the living and the dead. Our hearts go out to the other families.”

Ahead of the press conference, Israeli officials released new photos showing Damari, 28, Gonen, 24, and Doron Steinbrecher, 31, greeting their mother in tears on Sunday shortly after they were released from Gaza.

If the first phase of the ceasefire holds, 30 more hostages will be released from Gaza in the next 40 days in return for the nearly 1,800 Palestinians who have been released from Israeli prisons.

Palestinian health officials say more than 46,900 people have been killed in Gaza in more than 15 months of fighting and more than 110,700 injured.

The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but says most of the dead are women and children – something the UN says.

A UK-led study published by the medical journal The Lancet this month has shown that health ministry figures could reduce the number of deaths by 40%.

The Gaza Civil Defense said in a statement on Monday that 48% of its personnel were killed, injured or trapped during the fighting, and 85% of its vehicles and 17 of 21 facilities were damaged or destroyed.

Although the threat of airstrikes is over, for now, the sad work continues for the remaining Civil Defense personnel. Pictures shared by members of the organization in northern Gaza with the BBC on Monday showed them carrying out grueling tasks, including treating babies and corpses in distress.

“In every street there are dead. In every neighborhood there are people under these buildings,” said Abdullah Al-Majdalawi, a 24-year-old Civil Defense officer in Gaza City.

“Even after they ended the war, we received many calls from people saying please come, my family is buried under the rubble.”

Malaak Kasab, a 23-year-old recent graduate from Gaza City, told the BBC on Monday that his family members were among those who had not been cured.

“We have lost many of our relatives and some are still under the houses that were destroyed,” he said. “There are a lot of people under the rubble – everyone knows about it.”

Kasab’s family in the dormitory was not damaged, he said, but it was badly damaged. “There are no doors, windows, water, electricity, nothing. Not even firewood. It’s impossible to live in.”

The move remains dangerous for Gazans who have fled their homes as Israeli forces begin the process of withdrawing from the populated areas of the Strip.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has warned people not to approach their workers or installations, or to enter the area they have created around the Gaza border and around the Netzarim road, which crosses Gaza separating the north from the south.

But many people wanted to see what was left of their homes sooner than they were advised. Hatem Eliwah, a 42-year-old factory manager from Gaza City, said he was considering leaving on foot from his residence in Khan Younis in the south.

“We have been waiting for this end like people are waiting to enter heaven,” said Eliwah. “I lost my two brothers and their families. I lost my cousins, my uncle. The only thing I’m waiting for is to go home.”

There are serious concerns on both sides that the deal could end even before the end of the first phase in about six weeks, and Israel has insisted it reserves the right to resume fighting in Gaza at any time.

Speaking at a meeting of the UN Security Council on Monday, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed the agreement as “hopeful” and said that it must be fulfilled.

But Guterres warned of a worsening situation in the occupied West Bank, which has seen a sharp increase in Israeli settlers attacking Palestinian villages since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023.

“Israeli officials are openly talking about occupying the West Bank in the coming months,” Guterres said, adding: “Any such annexation would be a serious violation of international law.”

Muath Al-Khatib contributed to the story