Gaza official says recovering bodies from under rubble could take 8 years

• Basal stated that 148 civil defense workers have been killed, over 300 injured, and 90% of their vehicles and equipment
• Thousands Under Rubble: Approximately 8,000 bodies remain buried under destroyed buildings, with an estimated 4,000 additional victims located in restricted "yellow zones."

The spokesperson for the Gaza Strip Civil Defense Organization, Mahmoud Basal, has said that recovering the bodies of an estimated 8,000 people buried under rubble could take up to eight years under current operating conditions.

Basal detailed the "systematic collapse" of Gaza's emergency response capabilities following three years of "bombardment and a long-standing blockade," in statements to AA.

Out of the agency’s 16 operational centers, 14 were completely destroyed and one was partially damaged, leaving teams to work virtually from scratch.

During the ongoing 'Israeli' aggression on Gaza, 148 civil defense personnel lost their lives, more than 300 were injured, and nearly 90 percent of all emergency vehicles and machinery were destroyed due to the 'Israeli' attacks.

"We are currently working from scratch. There is a huge collapse and we have no resources," Basal said, noting that personnel frequently have to reach emergency sites on foot due to broken-down vehicles and lack of fuel.

Basal highlighted the critical bottleneck in search and rescue operations caused by a lack of heavy machinery, such as excavators and debris-transport vehicles.

There are approximately 14,000 missing in Gaza, of which over 10,000 are considered dead under the rubble of demolished buildings, according to the Palestinian Director General of the Government Media Office, Ismail Al-Thawabta.

Basal warned that without heavy equipment, recovering the remaining 8,000 reported bodies will take nearly a decade at the current rate.

However, he emphasized that if 10 construction machines, 10 excavators, and 30 transport vehicles were delivered, the timeline could be reduced to one or two years.

The crisis is further compounded by uncounted victims in "yellow zones,” areas where military restrictions limit access.

Basal estimated that more than 4,000 additional bodies could remain under debris in these areas, including northern Gaza, Shuja'iyya, Tuffah, Rafah, and Khan Yunis, where recovery requires formal United Nations coordination.

Calling on the international community to intervene and restore basic service mechanisms, Basal stated: "We are facing a real catastrophe... People in Gaza need to be treated like people living anywhere else in the world."