8,000 bodies believed buried as rubble clearance efforts in Gaza move at snail's pace

About 8,000 Palestinian bodies are thought to remain buried under debris across the Gaza Strip, as clearance efforts move at a very slow pace. So far, less than one percent of the rubble has been removed following Israel’s two-year military campaign.

According to a report by Haaretz, which cited an unnamed official from the United Nations Development Programme, clearing the destruction could take as long as seven years if progress continues at the current rate.

For many Palestinian families, the wait goes on. They are still hoping to recover the remains of relatives trapped beneath buildings that collapsed during Israeli airstrikes, so they can give them proper burials.

The estimate comes from figures provided by Palestinian Civil Defence teams, who say their work is being held back by a lack of heavy machinery. Without enough equipment, removing the massive amounts of debris scattered across the territory has become extremely difficult.

Meanwhile, violence has not fully stopped despite a ceasefire agreement reached last October. Gaza’s Health Ministry reports that 828 Palestinians have been killed and 2,342 injured since the deal was put in place, with what it describes as ongoing Israeli violations.

The ceasefire had been intended to bring an end to the two-year conflict, which, according to local authorities, left more than 72,000 people dead and 172,000 wounded. Around 90 percent of civilian infrastructure in Gaza has been destroyed. The United Nations estimates that rebuilding the territory will cost about $70 billion.