In Gaza City, members of the Al-Drimli family are searching through the debris of their former home to find their neighbor who was staying with them during an airstrike in November 2023. With limited access to excavators, they are using basic tools like shovels, wheelbarrows, and their hands to sift through the rubble.
The family has already recovered the remains of their loved ones but is now focused on finding their missing neighbor. According to the Gaza Health Ministry, there are still an estimated 8,000 to 10,000 bodies trapped under the rubble nearly three years after the conflict between Israel and Hamas began.
Due to the scarcity of functioning excavators in Gaza, many Palestinians, including the Al-Drimli family, are resorting to manual labor for search and recovery efforts. The lack of heavy machinery is attributed to the challenges in maintaining and operating the few available excavators, which have been heavily targeted and are in need of repair parts, oil, and fuel.
Samir Sabra and his son, Uday Sabra, operate two of the remaining excavators in Gaza but struggle with the high costs of operation and maintenance. The demand for their services exceeds their capacity, as they work tirelessly to clear rubble and retrieve bodies with limited resources.
Despite the ceasefire agreement last October, which aimed to facilitate the entry of heavy equipment for debris clearance, the situation on the ground remains unchanged. Border restrictions imposed by Israel on fuel, oil, and spare parts have further hindered the maintenance of critical machinery, prolonging the process of recovering remains trapped in the rubble.
Civil Defence spokesperson Mahmoud Basal highlights the ongoing challenges in accessing heavy equipment and emphasizes the urgent need for international assistance to expedite the recovery efforts. The limited availability of excavators and the slow progress in retrieving bodies indicate a prolonged and arduous task ahead for Gaza’s recovery and reconstruction efforts.