Gaza’s Health Ministry said Wednesday that hospitals received another 54 bodies of people killed by Israel’s onslaught as Palestinians continue to dig remains out of the rubble.
The Health Ministry said that 53 of the bodies came out of the rubble, while one Palestinian died of previously sustained wounds. “There are still a number of victims under the rubble and on the streets, and ambulance and civil defense crews cannot reach them,” the ministry wrote on Telegram.
The ministry said the recovered bodies have brought its death toll since October 2023 to 47,161, a number that’s considered a significant undercount. Each body that’s brought to a hospital will be added to the death toll, but in many cases, rescuers are only finding bones that are buried near where they’re found, and it’s unclear if they’re being counted.
“In most cases, they are finding only bones or bodies that are unrecognizable. They bury them in areas near their targeted houses,” said Al Jazeera reporter Hind Khoudary. “This isn’t a matter of several months – many Palestinians have been trapped under the rubble for more than a year.”
Khoudary said there are at least 11,000 Palestinians unaccounted for who are believed to be buried under the rubble. Gaza rescuers have said there are at least 10,000 bodies buried in the debris.
Also on Wednesday, an Israeli drone killed a Palestinian civilian was killed and four others were injured by an Israeli drone despite the ceasefire, according to the Palestinian news agency WAFA.
The WAFA report reads: “Local sources reported that an Israeli quadcopter drone opened fire on a group of civilians near a playground in the al-Shaboura refugee camp. The group was working on cleaning and clearing the rubble from their homes when the attack occurred, resulting in the killing of a 28-year-old civilian and the wounding of four others.”
Since the ceasefire came into effect on Sunday, at least four Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza, according to Antiwar.com’s count, which is based on media reports.
