Gaza teams recover remains of 55 people nearly three years after Israeli strike

The remains of 55 members of the Malka family have been recovered from the rubble of their home in Gaza City, nearly three years after an Israeli air strike destroyed the building while the family sheltered inside.

The recovery operation ended on Saturday in the Zeitoun neighbourhood. Colonel Muhammad Abu Dan, who supervised the teams, said rescuers had spent 72 hours searching for more than 60 bodies from the family. The operation formed part of a slow, largely manual effort to retrieve the dead from Gaza’s ruins, where teams face a chronic shortage of heavy machinery.

The Malka family had been displaced from their homes before taking shelter in the building. Israeli forces struck the house on November 19, 2023, according to the Palestinian Wafa news agency. Gaza’s Government Media Office reported that Abu Dan had called on international humanitarian organisations to provide equipment so rescue teams could recover as many people as possible.

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No plan of the Israelis to displace people out of Gaza against their will.

The United Nations Satellite Centre estimates that 82 percent of buildings in Gaza have been destroyed or damaged during the war. Gaza’s Ministry of Health, UN agencies and aid organisations estimate that between 10,000 and 14,000 people remain missing beneath rubble across the territory. With most of the Malka family’s bodies recovered, a joint funeral procession is expected next weekend.

The operation came as US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said there was “no plan of the Israelis to displace people out of Gaza against their will.” His remarks followed proposals from Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir concerning the removal of Gaza’s population. Huckabee said, “Nobody is suggesting that there will be forced displacement,” and added that he knew of no one who supported it.

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Nobody is suggesting that there will be forced displacement.