GAZA: Just hours after the two-week intense offensive on Gaza City’s Shujaiya district ended, Palestinians had already recovered over 60 bodies as they picked through the piles of concrete and dust left behind, officials in Gaza said on Thursday.
The Israeli military operation, which concluded late Wednesday, has left Shujaiya in a state of complete destruction, with residents returning to find their homes reduced to rubble.
According to Mahmud Bassal, spokesman for Gaza’s civil defence agency, the grim task of retrieving bodies began immediately after Israeli forces withdrew from the area. “Civil defence crews, aided by local residents, have recovered more than 60 bodies so far,” Bassal stated.
The offensive has rendered approximately 85 percent of the buildings in Shujaiya uninhabitable, transforming the once-bustling neighborhood into what Bassal described as a “disaster zone.” He estimated that more than 120,000 people have been displaced as a result of the extensive damage.
Residents who returned to Shujaiya described a scene of utter devastation. Sabrin Abu Asr recounted finding her home reduced to ruins, with only skeletal remains of structures left standing amidst heaps of debris. “Shujaiya district lies in ruins… we are devastated,” she lamented.
The Israeli military’s ground offensive initially targeted the southern city of Rafah in early May but subsequently expanded to include intensified attacks across northern and central Gaza. The full evacuation order issued for Shujaiya on June 27 underscores the ongoing danger faced by residents across Gaza City.
Following the withdrawal of Israeli forces, displaced residents scrambled to salvage whatever belongings they could, often resorting to makeshift methods of transport such as bicycles or donkey-drawn carts. The scale of destruction has left many questioning the humanitarian impact and calling for international empathy towards Gaza’s plight.
Mohamad Nairi, visibly shaken by the devastation, struggled to articulate the enormity of the damage. “All the houses were demolished,” he recounted, his hands covered in dust from sifting through the debris.
Since October 7, Israel has launched a relentless bombardment campaign in Gaza killing at least 38,345 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to figures from the territory’s health ministry.
