By Hatem Khaled, Mohammed Salem and Nidal al-Mughrabi
GAZA/CAIRO, Jan 20 (Reuters) – Palestinian Emergency Companies mentioned on Monday {that a} search is underway for hundreds of Palestinians believed buried underneath rubble, as Gaza’s residents expressed shock on the devastation on the second day of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
The truce within the 15-month-old conflict, which has laid waste to the Gaza Strip and infected the Center East, took impact on Sunday with the discharge of the primary three hostages held by Hamas and 90 Palestinians free of Israeli jails.
Now consideration is beginning to shift to the rebuilding of the coastal enclave which the Israeli army has demolished in retaliation for a Hamas assault on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
That assault killed 1,200 individuals with round 250 hostages taken into Gaza, in accordance with Israeli tallies. Within the subsequent battle, greater than 47,000 Palestinians have been killed, Gaza’s well being ministry says.
“We are searching for 10,000 martyrs whose bodies remain under the rubble,” mentioned Mahmoud Basal, spokesperson of the Palestinian Civil Emergency Companies.
No less than 2,840 our bodies have been melted and there have been no traces of them, he mentioned.
Displaced Gazan Mohamed Gomaa misplaced his brother and nephew within the conflict.
“It was a big shock, and the amount (of people) feeling shocked is countless because of what happened to their homes – it’s destruction, total destruction. It’s not like an earthquake or a flood, no no, what happened is a war of extermination,” he mentioned.
Residents and medics in Gaza mentioned for probably the most half the ceasefire gave the impression to be holding, though there have been remoted incidents. Medics mentioned eight individuals had been hit by Israeli fireplace since Monday morning within the southern metropolis of Rafah, with out giving particulars of their situation.
The Israeli army mentioned it was checking the stories.
Billions of {dollars} will likely be wanted to rebuild Gaza after the conflict. A U.N. injury evaluation launched this month confirmed that clearing over 50 million tonnes of rubble left within the aftermath of Israel’s bombardment may take 21 years and value as much as $1.2 billion.
Whereas, a U.N. report from final 12 months, mentioned rebuilding Gaza’s shattered properties may take at the least till 2040, however may drag on for a lot of a long time.
The particles is believed to be contaminated with asbestos, with some refugee camps struck through the conflict recognized to have been constructed with the fabric.
Israel mentioned its purpose within the conflict was to eradicate Hamas and destroy the tunnel community it constructed underground.
