Gaza's civil defence forced to leave hundreds of victims under rubble

As Israel's air strikes on the Gaza Strip continue to claim overwhelming numbers of casualties, civil defence crews find themselves facing two options: spend hours trying to retrieve the bodies, or leave the dead under the rubble and rush to other areas to pull out those who are still alive.

As the Palestinian health ministry counts the thousands of people killed and wounded in Israeli attacks, the civil defence says hundreds are lying dead under collapsed buildings.

With the lack of rescue equipment and the recurrent targeting of its crews, the civil defence told Middle East Eye they are following a plan that gives priority to rescuing victims who are still alive over retrieving the bodies of the dead.

"We arrive at the targeted place, if we find out that there are people still alive under the rubble, we continue digging until we pull them out. But if we are sure that those who are under the rubble are dead, we leave for another targeted site," Khalil Saifan, a civil defence crew member, told MEE.

"The bombing occurs in different places at the same time, dozens of locations are targeted within 10 minutes, and we have very limited equipment and crew members to act."

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