Israeli Strikes Destroy Machinery Used for Recovering Bodies Buried Under the Rubble in Gaza
One aid worker described conditions in Gaza as the "stuff of nightmares."
As Israel's blockade of aid into Gaza continues, misery in the enclave has been compounded after Israeli airstrikes on Tuesday destroyed several bulldozers used to clear streets and remove bodies from beneath rubble.
According to the United Nations, citing local officials, the destruction of the heavy machinery has brought rescue and recovery efforts to a halt, making it even more challenging to reach the thousands of bodies trapped under rubble.
A recent investigation from Sky Newshighlighted how Gazans trapped under debris and rubble die slow deaths as residents attempt to dig them out with inadequate equipment such as a trowel or hammer. The U.N., relying on local reports, estimates that 11,000 bodies are trapped under the rubble.
According to Gaza's Civil Defense, nine bulldozers were brought into the enclave during the six-week cease-fire that Israel upended on March 18. The general directorate of the Civil Defense called their destruction a "targeted attack" on the Jabalia al-Nazla Municipality headquarters in northern Gaza.
On Tuesday, the Center for Palestinian Human Rights, which is based in Gaza City, released a statement condemning the destruction of the bulldozers.
"Such equipment is essential for saving lives and facilitating the movement of ambulance and Civil Defense crews," said the group. These acts by Israeli security forces "reflect their policy of deliberately inflicting on Palestinians conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction, in whole or in part, constituting integral act of the crime of genocide ongoing for over 18 months."
In a statement on Tuesday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it carried out attacks on "engineering vehicles" used for "terror purposes."
Meanwhile, Israel has imposed a complete blockade of aid into Gaza since early March and relaunched its military campaign on the strip on March 18, shattering the cease-fire that went into effect in mid-January.
One Oxfam aid worker described the conditions in Gaza as the "stuff of nightmares," according to a Tuesday statement from the global organization.
According to the group, Oxfam and its partners have not received any aid trucks, food parcels, hygiene kits, or other essential equipment since the siege began. Oxfam has a few water tanks remaining, otherwise its supplies is nearly exhausted.
The group also condemned repeated evacuation orders given by the Israeli military.
"It's hard to explain just how terrible things are in Gaza at the moment. Our staff and partners are witnessing scenes of carnage and despair every day," said Clemence Lagouardat, Oxfam's humanitarian response lead in Gaza. "People are in terror, fearing for their lives as displacement orders tell them, with little notice, to move with whatever they can carry."
The Guardiandescribed the siege as imposing conditions "unmatched in severity" since the start of the war, due to the new evacuation orders, strikes targeting civilian infrastructure, and dwindling food, fuel, and medical supplies.
"Gaza City is packed with displaced people who have fled Israeli troops moving into the north, and they are living on the street or putting their tents inside damaged buildings that are going to collapse," Amande Bazerolle, the Gaza emergency coordinator for Médecins Sans Frontières, or Doctors Without Borders, told The Guardian. "There are not enough points of care for so many people. At our burns clinic in Gaza City, we are refusing patients by 10:00 am and we have to tell them to come back the next day, as we are triaging to make our drug supplies last as long as possible."
In October 2023, Hamas militants attacked southern Israel, killing over 1,000 people and taking roughly 250 hostages—prompting Israel to carry out a fierce military campaign in the Gaza Strip.
Multiple human rights groups have said Israel is guilt of committing genocide or "acts of genocide."
Over 51,000 people in Gaza have been killed since Israel's campaign began, according to local health officials.
