Gaza's Civil Defence agency said Saturday its crews had recovered the bodies and remains of 112 people from beneath the rubble of homes destroyed by Israeli strikes in the Sabra neighbourhood of Gaza City.
In a statement, the agency said crews had completed a search operation launched nearly two weeks ago in a residential block that it said the Israeli army had "destroyed over its inhabitants."
According to the agency, the residential block, which included homes belonging to the al-Hasayna and Abu Sharia families, was struck on November 23, 2023, one day before the first truce in Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza took effect.
The agency said its crews recovered the bodies during 136 hours of "arduous" work carried out over nearly two weeks.
The victims included 40 children, 38 women and seven people with disabilities, it said.
More bodies still buried
Mohammed Abu Dan, who supervised the operation, said crews were unable to recover another 157 bodies believed to remain buried beneath the rubble.
"The crews were digging with their hands through masses of reinforced concrete," Abu Dan said, describing the lack of equipment as the biggest obstacle to the operation.
He said some bodies were trapped in concrete and steel reinforcement, which he said reflected the destructive force of the munitions used.
"Many bodies disintegrated and evaporated because of the intensity of the explosion," he added.
Abu Dan urged humanitarian organisations to pressure Israel to allow the entry of heavy equipment needed to continue recovery efforts.
Mass recovery effort
The search formed part of the second phase of a project launched by the Civil Defence on July 19 to recover bodies believed to be buried beneath rubble.
Civil Defence spokesperson Mahmoud Basal said at the launch of the phase that crews would spend 800 hours searching 147 destroyed homes across Gaza City and the northern and central parts of the enclave, where an estimated 1,072 bodies are believed to remain trapped.
Gaza's government media office said in October 2025 that about 9,500 Palestinians had been reported missing since Israel launched its genocidal offensive in October 2023, including people believed to be buried beneath collapsed buildings.
Under the first phase of the ceasefire agreement that took effect on October 10 2025, Israel was to allow the entry of heavy machinery needed for recovery operations. Gaza authorities and Palestinian factions accuse Israel of failing to fulfill that obligation.
The ceasefire ended two years of genocide in Gaza, during which more than 73,000 Palestinians were killed and over 174,000 injured, according to Gaza authorities. The UN has estimated reconstruction costs at around $70 billion.
