In Gaza, the recovery work was carried out by the Civil Defence, which operates under the Hamas-run interior ministry. Its efforts have been supported by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
“We provide material support – literally the gloves, shovels, protective equipment and body bags they use,” said Patrick Griffiths, spokesperson for the ICRC.
“We provide training, supporting them to do their work safely, in line with professional practice ensuring the deceased are treated with dignity. And we’ve supported them by renting – for hundreds of hours – two of the only excavators available for this work in Gaza.”
“It’s not an answer any family wants to receive – confirmation that your loved one has been killed,” Griffiths added. “But it’s essential towards them receiving closure and being able to mourn their loss in their own way.”
Last month, the BBC filmed the start of the operation to uncover bodies in Sabra. A single bulldozer picked through the rubble and then more delicate work was done by hand.
“This multi-storey building has been levelled. There were maybe more than 180 civilians inside. Most of them, around 90%, were killed,” Civil Defence spokesman Mohammed Basel said at the time.
“On that day [of the strikes], the Civil Defence crews couldn’t get to the site because it needed co-ordination [with Israel via a third party such as the ICRC] and there was great danger in reaching the area.”
Relatives of the dead were at the scene to guide the recovery crews during the recovery work. They said they had retrieved as many bodies as they could immediately after the attack and were relieved to be able to give others a proper burial.
“It’s a devastating and sad feeling that resonates with everyone who was here,” said Nahed al-Hassayna, as he showed the BBC the rubble of his family’s living room.
“The kids – what did they do?” he asked, holding up the possessions of two of his young relatives. “This was a school backpack for Omar, and this was Ibrahim’s shoe. Why? Why were they killed?”
“I’m the sole survivor of my family,” said Yousef Abu Sharia, standing nearby. “Today, I’m talking to you [as] the one who lost my mother, my father, my uncle and my cousins and all my family. I lost them under this rubble.”
It is believed that dozens more bodies are yet to be recovered at the site.
Across the Gaza Strip, thousands more people are unaccounted for. The remains of many are thought to be under the rubble left by intense Israeli air strikes during the war.
