Gazans struggle to retrieve bodies as storms lash war-damaged buildings

Authorities in Gaza warned on Monday that more war-damaged buildings may collapse because of heavy rain in the devastated Palestinian enclave and said the weather was making it hard to recover bodies still under the rubble.

Two buildings collapsed in Gaza on Friday, killing at least 12 people according to local health authorities, amid a storm that has also washed away and flooded tents, and led to deaths from exposure.

Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire in October after two years of intense bombardment and military operations, but humanitarian agencies say there is still very little aid getting into Gaza, where nearly the entire population is homeless.

Gaza Civil Defence spokesman Mahmoud Basal called on the international community to provide mobile homes and caravans for displaced Palestinians rather than tents.

Relatives and residents inspect remains found by Palestinian civil defence workers during a search for bodies in a collapsed building belonging to the Salim family. AP

"If people are not protected today we will witness more victims, more killing of people, children, women, entire families inside these buildings," he said.

FATHER FINDS HIS HOME HAS COLLAPSED, KILLING HIS CHILDREN

Mohammad Nassar and his family were living in a six-storey building that was badly damaged by Israeli strikes earlier in the war, and then collapsed on Friday.

His family had struggled to find alternative accommodation and had been flooded out while living in a tent during a previous bout of bad weather. Nassar went out to buy some necessities on Friday and returned to a scene of carnage with rescue workers struggling to pull bodies from the rubble.

Palestinian civil defence workers search for bodies in a collapsed building belonging to the Salim family, targeted by Israeli strikes, on Jalaa Street, Gaza City. AP

"I saw my son's hand sticking out from under the ground. It was the scene that affected me the most. My son is under the ground, and we are unable to get him out," Nassar said. His son, 15, died, as did a daughter, aged 18.

UN MAKES URGENT CALL FOR MORE AID TO BE ALLOWED IN

Later on Monday, the head of the UN Palestinian refugee agency said more aid must be allowed into Gaza without delays to prevent putting more displaced families at serious risk.

"With heavy rain and cold brought in by Storm Byron, people in the Gaza Strip are freezing to death," UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini posted on X.

A Palestinian family rides on a cart amid the rain in Gaza City. AP

"The waterlogged ruins where they are sheltering are collapsing, causing even more exposure to cold," he added.

Lazzarini said they have supplies that have been waiting for months to enter Gaza, and which he said would cover the needs of hundreds of thousands of the population of over two million.

UN and Palestinian officials said at least 300,000 new tents are urgently needed for the roughly 1.5 million people still displaced. Most existing shelters are worn out or made of thin plastic and cloth sheeting.

Palestinians stand inside a residential building damaged during the war in Gaza City on Monday. Reuters

Gaza authorities are meanwhile still digging to recover around 9,000 bodies they estimate remain buried in rubble from Israeli bombing during the war, but they lack the machinery needed to expedite the work, spokesman Ismail al-Thawabta said.

On Monday, rescue workers retrieved the remains of around 20 people from a multi-storey building bombed in December 2023 where around 60 people, including 30 children, were believed to be sheltering.

Hamas-led authorities say Israel is not allowing in as much aid as promised under the truce. Aid agencies say Israel is blocking essential items. Israel says it is meeting its obligations and accuses agencies of inefficiency and failing to prevent theft by Hamas, which the group denies.

Reuters