GAZA CITY\u00a0\u2014\u00a0 Yusef al-Zaharnah\u2019s eyes were transfixed on the excavator\u2019s bucket as its claws scooped into the rubble, hoping its fresh load would end nine grueling months of uncertainty and allow him to fully grieve.<\/p>\n
Once it disgorged its haul, Al-Zaharnah, a burly, weary-looking 56-year-old, climbed over the detritus and bent low for a closer look. But his search yielded only crushed masonry; no bones, and no sign of his son, or the others killed with him.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I see even a small piece, whether it belongs to my son or to someone else\u2019s, at least they can finally be buried,\u201d Al-Zaharnah said, trudging back to his spot by the excavator to await the next load and resume his search. <\/p>\n
Al-Zaharnah\u2019s journey of mourning began in October when an Israeli missile leveled the five-story building in Gaza City where his family was sheltering with others during Israel\u2019s war against Hamas militants.<\/p>\n
More than 40 people were killed in the airstrike, including three of his sons: Munther, 31; Mutaz, 26; and 21-year-old Abdul Karim.<\/p>\n
He had managed to pull out the bodies of Munther and Abdul Karim in the first days after the airstrike and buried them beside another son, Munir, 28, who died in an Israeli strike in June 2025.<\/p>\n
All I want is to bury my son beside his brothers <\/p>\n
\u2014 Yusef Al-Zaharnah <\/p>\n
But Mutaz remained missing, his body impossible to reach without heavy machinery that only recently became available.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll I want is to bury my son beside his brothers,\u201d Al-Zaharnah said, his voice quiet as he stared at the excavator.<\/p>\n
For Gaza\u2019s Civil Defense forces, Al-Zaharnah\u2019s family represents a small part of a much larger crisis. Authorities estimate that more than 8,500 bodies \u2014 other experts suggest the figure is closer to 14,000 \u2014 remain trapped under 61.5 million tons of rubble across the Palestinian enclave, roughly 20 times the amount produced by conflicts around the world since 2008.<\/p>\n
Recovering them from one of the most devastated places on Earth \u2014 the United Nations says more than 80% of buildings are damaged or destroyed \u2014 with the meager resources on hand has been a frustratingly gargantuan task, said Mahmoud al-Basal, a spokesman for the Civil Defense.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery day, the Civil Defense receives dozens of calls from families asking whether we can search beneath the ruins of their homes for loved ones,\u201d Al-Basal said.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor families, the missing are not gone, they are still beneath the rubble, waiting to be found. It\u2019s one of the conflict\u2019s least visible, yet most devastating humanitarian emergencies,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The war began on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants killed 1,200 people in southern Israel \u2014 two thirds of whom were civilians, Israeli authorities say \u2014 and took 251 others hostage.<\/p>\n
Israel retaliated with a massive military offensive that has killed more than 73,000 Palestinians, Gaza\u2019s Health Ministry says, around half of them women and children. (The ministry is part of the Hamas-led authority in the Gaza Strip, but its count \u2014 which does not distinguish between civilians and fighters \u2014 is considered accurate by the U.N., medical experts and the Israeli military.)<\/p>\n
The U.N., humanitarian experts and human rights organizations, including Israeli groups, accuse Israel of committing genocide in its campaign in Gaza \u2014 a charge Israel denies, saying its attacks aimed to destroy Hamas.<\/p>\n
During the war, as the death toll ticked upward in the enclave, search operations for bodies largely stopped, either because most heavy equipment was destroyed, fuel became scarce or many strike sites became inaccessible due to the fighting.<\/p>\n
Even after a ceasefire took effect Oct. 10, 2025, it was hard to resume searches, because more than 80% of the Civil Defense\u2019s equipment was destroyed. <\/p>\n
And although the first phase of the Trump-brokered ceasefire stipulated unfettered entry for rubble-removing equipment, Israel has heavily restricted entry of excavators, bulldozers and cranes. (Last year, a Hamas official said Israel had allowed in only six of the 500 excavators and other heavy machinery needed.)<\/p>\n
That forced rescue crews to rely on a few privately owned excavators that frequently broke down for lack of spare parts and fuel, which Israel also restricts.<\/p>\n