Palestinians begin search for those missing or buried under rubble in Gaza during ceasefire
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Residents express shock at ’total destruction’ wrought by 15 months of war on coastal enclave. Palestinians have begun searching for the potenially thousands believed to still be trapped under rubble in Gaza, on the second day of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
![[Palestinians search through the rubble in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on Monday]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/20/12/SEI236659764.jpg)
Residents have expressed their shock at the devastation wrought by 15 months of war on the coastal enclave, which has also inflamed the entire Middle East, with one displaced Gazan who lost his brother and nephew in the conflict describing the “total destruction” he has witnessed.
![[Palestinians rush to take aid from moving trucks entering Rafah on Monday after the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas came into effect]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/20/14/2025-01-20T140439Z_508664538_RC2PDCAGRFUR_RTRMADP_3_ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS-GAZA-CEASEFIRE.jpg)
Now attention is starting to shift to the rebuilding of the Strip after the truce took effect on Sunday, with the release of the first three hostages held by Hamas and 90 Palestinians freed from Israeli jails. Hamas triggered the war in Gaza with an attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, during which around 1,200 people were killed, with another 250 hostages taken into Gaza, according to Israeli tallies. In Israel’s retalitory offensive, more than 47,000 Palestinians have been killed, Gaza’s health ministry said in its latest figures on Monday.
Palestinians are now looking for as many as 10,000 bodies believed to be buried under rubble, Mahmoud Basal, spokesperson of the Palestinian Civil Emergency Services, said on Monday. Displaced Gazan Mohamed Gomaa, who lost his brother and nephew in the war, said: “It was a big shock, and the amount [of people] feeling shocked is countless because of what happened to their homes – it's destruction, total destruction.”.
