The operation resumed on Sunday morning after a two-day pause due to the storm, as part of the implementation of the ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement between Hamas and Israel, amid widespread destruction resulting from Israeli raids.
Israel stipulates that the remaining remains be handed over before moving to the second phase of the agreement, while Hamas asserts that the search operations are complex and time-consuming given the scale of the destruction.
In contrast, the government media office in Gaza indicates that there are about 9,500 Palestinians missing under the rubble since the start of the genocidal war.
For its part, the Ministry of Health in Gaza announced that the death toll from the war of extermination since October 2023 has risen to 69,483 martyrs and 170,706 wounded, following the adoption of new data for 279 martyrs.
The ministry explained that 17 martyrs arrived at hospitals during the past 72 hours, including some who were pulled from under the rubble, at a time when dozens of Israeli violations of the ceasefire agreement are being recorded, including shooting at civilians west of the “yellow line” that separates the areas under army control from the areas where Palestinians are allowed to move.
According to official statistics, since October 11, Israel has killed 266 Palestinians and injured 635 others in continued violations of the agreement.
Government agencies warn that there are more victims under the rubble of destroyed homes, as Israel is preventing the entry of heavy equipment needed to remove the debris, despite having previously allowed the entry of machinery to retrieve the bodies of its prisoners.
Government estimates indicate that hundreds of vehicles are still being prevented from entering, which is hindering the recovery of thousands of bodies and increasing the number of missing persons.
On another front of the deteriorating humanitarian situation, the Civil Defense Authority in Gaza announced that dozens of tents sheltering displaced people in the Al-Mawasi area of Khan Yunis were flooded as a result of the low-pressure system that has been ongoing for three days.
The storm caused thousands of tents scattered in shelter areas to be flooded and blown away, forcing many to take refuge in damaged buildings that lacked even the minimum level of safety.
Civil Defense spokesman Mahmoud Bassal said that Gaza City is flooded with rain amid widespread destruction of infrastructure, warning of an even greater catastrophe if the region is hit by a polar storm. He added that thousands of tents have been damaged or destroyed, and that the humanitarian situation is deteriorating as the blockade continues.
The Government Media Office estimates the number of displaced people at about 1.5 million Palestinians, most of whom live in tents unfit for habitation, as estimates indicate that 93% of the tents have become damaged, at a time when Israel has destroyed 90% of the civilian infrastructure during the past two years with initial losses of nearly $70 billion.
Israel also refuses to allow alternative housing despite the ceasefire agreement stipulating this, while its daily violations of the agreement continue, leaving dead and wounded on an ongoing basis.