Thousands died under rubble due to lack of equipment: Gaza’s Civil Defence
Mohammed al-Mughair, director of supplies and equipment at Gaza’s Civil Defence, says members of the emergency organisation suffer greatly as they are regularly targeted by the Israeli army.
“We have fulfilled more than 170,000 emergency calls, many of which led to the transfer of injured or killed Palestinians. Our forces are facing not only physical fatigue, but also psychological burdens as more than 25 percent of our crew members were killed,” he told Al Jazeera from Gaza City in the north of the enclave.
“We are using simple tools like shovels and hammers, along with our bare hands, to try to rescue people from under the rubble. We do not have any heavy machinery or equipment.”
He said many of the Israeli targets are residential areas that were not in the forced displacement red zones set by the Israeli army.
“Israeli forces have adopted these policies to multiply the number of victims, so that those injured will lose their lives. We have documented 9,700 survivors who took their last breath under the debris because we could not help them.”
Civil defence workers extinguish a fire in Khan Younis in southern Gaza after a deadly Israeli air attack, May 23
Two children among 5 relatives killed in Deir el-Balah: Report
Israeli bombardment has hit a tent camp for displaced people in Gaza’s central city of Deir el-Balah, killing five people from the same family, according to medical sources cited by Wafa.
Two children were among those killed, it reported.
It follows Wafa’s report of an earlier attack in northern Gaza’s Jabalia an-Nazla that killed at least seven people, including a journalist and his relatives.
Grieving mother pleads for children’s bodies
A woman who has lost two children to Israeli attacks is worried she will not be able to bury them if their bodies are not recovered soon.
In footage posted on Instagram and verified by Al Jazeera’s Sanad fact-checking unit, Naama Shahwan says her children were killed near the European Gaza Hospital in Khan Younis on Saturday after they went out to search for bread.
“Bring me my children. I want to bury them. They are innocent kids,” Shahwan said, expressing fears that their bodies will be found by stray dogs. “They died and I am patient, but I want to bury my children. For God’s sake, bring me my children.”
Gaza’s Civil Defence says operations director killed with wife
In a statement on Telegram, Gaza’s Civil Defence – the agency responsible for rescue services – says an Israeli attack in the Nuseirat refugee camp has hit the home of its operations director, Ashraf Abu Nar, killing him and his wife.
The agency described Abu Nar as “a disciplined and responsible officer committed to his humanitarian and professional work”.
Gaza death toll rises
At least 38 Palestinians have been killed and 204 injured in Israeli attacks across Gaza in the latest 24-hour reporting period, according to the enclave’s Health Ministry. The statement published on Telegram said the numbers do not include victims received by hospitals in northern Gaza “due to the difficulty of accessing them”.
The total death toll from Israel’s war on Gaza has risen to 53,939 people killed and 122,797 injured since October 7, 2023, it said. At least 3,785 people have been killed and 10,756 injured in the enclave since March 18 when Israel broke a two-month ceasefire, the ministry said.
