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Recovery Crews Retrieve 50 Bodies From Rubble of Strike in Northern Gaza
A three-day operation in Beit Lahia recovered remains from a five-story apartment building struck in late October 2024 that killed more than 132 members of one extended family. Gaza officials say about 8,000 bodies remain buried under debris across the territory. Rescue workers used one functioning excavator and manual searches to identify victims by clothing and other items.
May 6, 5:00 AM·3m read1 source
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In northern Gaza, a recovery crew conducted a three-day operation to retrieve bodies from the rubble of a building struck by Israeli forces in late October 2024. The strike on a five-story apartment building in Beit Lahia killed more than 132 members of the extended Abu Naser family who were sheltering there, according to an NPR investigation.
A year and a half later, survivors and rescue workers began the process of recovering and burying some of the remains. An Israeli drone flew over the site as the crew worked in an area where homes had been reduced to debris. Gaza's Civil Defense selected the location as one of its first major recovery efforts in the north.
The team had only one functioning excavator available for such operations in Gaza, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross. The excavator lifted concrete and rebar. When the machine stopped, rescue workers searched by smell, kneeling to detect odors from the debris.
After 90 minutes on the first day they located the first remains, identified by family members from the victim's jacket. Nearly 18 months after the strike the bodies were largely skeletons inside their clothing. Gaza's health ministry estimates that about 8,000 bodies are still buried under rubble throughout the territory.
Iyad Abu Jarad, who oversees the crew, said he receives 10 to 15 calls daily from families seeking help to recover remains. A Red Cross spokesman stated that one excavator was insufficient for the scale of the need and that a second machine had been repaired for use in coming weeks.
