Remains of 55 people recovered from Gaza rubble 2 years after strike

BERLIN – Civil defense officials in Gaza City said on Saturday that they have recovered the remains of 55 people from the rubble of a residential building destroyed in an Israeli airstrike two years ago.

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Members of a family and numerous internally displaced persons had been staying in the house at the time, according to authorities conducting the clearance. Independent confirmation was not immediately available.

The Gaza war was triggered by the massacre by the Palestinian militant organization Hamas and allied groups on Oct. 7, 2023. Around 200 people were killed in southern Israel and roughly 250 hostages were taken to the Gaza Strip.

According to the Hamas-controlled health authority in the coastal region, around 73,400 Palestinians have been killed since then. The figure does not differentiate between civilians and members of armed groups.

According to the United Nations Satellite Center, or UNOSAT, 82% of all buildings in the Gaza Strip were destroyed or damaged during the war.

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Health authorities in Gaza, along with U.N. agencies and aid organizations, estimate that the remains of 10,000 to 14,000 people are still buried under rubble.

Civil defense authorities report an acute shortage of bulldozers, excavators and trucks to gain access to the missing and recover human remains.

Only a small portion of the more than 60 million tons of war debris has been cleared so far.

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This story was originally published September 5, 2026 at 6:27 PM.