Committee spokesman Alaa al-Aklouk said during a press conference in Gaza City that the Gaza Strip "has become the world's largest mass grave," noting that some 10,000 Palestinians are still missing under the rubble. He added that these martyrs "were buried under their homes, which have been turned into mass graves, without their final dignity being respected."
Al-Aklouk criticized the absence of an effective international and humanitarian role, accusing international organizations of double standards in dealing with the bodies of Palestinian victims compared to the attention given to the issue of the bodies of Israeli prisoners.
The spokesman called on Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to activate all political and legal channels to follow up on the missing persons file. He also called on the international community to introduce heavy equipment and modern technologies to detect bodies and conduct DNA tests to determine their identities, and not leave them "unidentified".
This comes at a time when Israel is preventing the entry of heavy equipment needed to remove rubble, while recently allowing the entry of some equipment only to search for the bodies of Israeli prisoners, according to Hebrew media reports.
The Ministry of Health in Gaza explained that it has recovered about 513 bodies from the streets and roads since last October, while estimates indicate that more than 68,000 Palestinians have been killed and another 170,000 injured since the start of the war, which has left massive destruction in 90% of the infrastructure in the sector.
Closing the border with Egypt
Meanwhile, Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz issued instructions to turn the area adjacent to the Egyptian border into a "closed military zone," allegedly to counter arms smuggling via drones.
Israeli Army Radio quoted Katz as saying that he had ordered the army to amend its rules of engagement, adding: "We are declaring war on smuggling, and anyone who crosses into the restricted area will be harmed."
The radio station added that "Katz agreed with the head of the General Security Service (Shin Bet), David Zinni, to work on classifying the danger of smuggling weapons using drones as a terrorist threat."
"It was also agreed that the Defense Ministry's Counterterrorism Directorate would work on developing technological solutions in cooperation with the Air Force," the radio station reported, adding: "In addition, the National Security Council will provide assistance on issues such as compulsory licensing and legislative amendments related to the use, possession, and maintenance of drones."
In recent months, the occupation army has claimed more than once to have thwarted attempts to smuggle weapons using drones, while the army has not revealed the source of these weapons or the party receiving them.
The decision comes amid a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas since October 10, which Israel continues to violate daily, resulting in deaths and injuries.
