In Gaza City, members of the Al-Drimli family are diligently searching for the body of their neighbor amidst the debris of their demolished home, using basic tools such as shovels, buckets, and a wheelbarrow under the scorching sun. Among the clatter of shovels and the hum of an electric saw, they labor in silence to clear the rubble left by an airstrike that struck a six-story residential building in November 2023.
Despite already finding the remains of their own family members, the Al-Drimli family continues their search for the missing neighbor who sought refuge with them during the building’s destruction. According to the Gaza Health Ministry, an estimated 8,000 to 10,000 bodies remain trapped under the rubble nearly three years after the conflict between Israel and Hamas began.
Due to the scarcity of excavators in Gaza, many Palestinians, like the Al-Drimli family, resort to manual labor due to the high cost and limited availability of heavy equipment. With only about a dozen barely operational excavators in the region, officials and equipment operators face challenges in maintaining the machinery due to shortages of spare parts, oil, and fuel.
Samir Sabra, along with his son Uday Sabra, operates two of the few remaining excavators in Gaza. The steep cost of running the equipment, including the expensive oil needed, poses financial constraints on their operations. Despite the increasing demand for their services, the lack of maintenance, equipment, and spare parts hinder their ability to keep up with the workload.
While Uday Sabra tirelessly continues his excavation work, he acknowledges that the scale of destruction in Gaza requires more equipment and resources. The limited availability of functioning excavators is a result of the machinery being targeted during the conflict, as confirmed by Mahmoud Basal, the spokesperson for the Palestinian Civil Defence.
Basal emphasizes the urgent need for additional heavy machinery to expedite the recovery efforts. However, border restrictions imposed by Israel on fuel, oil, and spare parts further impede the maintenance and operation of essential equipment in Gaza. Despite ceasefire agreements that aimed to facilitate the entry of heavy machinery for rubble clearance, the situation on the ground remains challenging.
In response to the ongoing obstacles, humanitarian organizations and the United Nations have called for international intervention to address the shortage of heavy equipment in Gaza. As the search for remains beneath the rubble continues, the lack of resources and equipment prolongs the arduous process, potentially extending the timeline for retrieving the bodies.
Uday Sabra remains committed to his task, determined to provide closure to the families of the deceased by recovering their remains from the debris. Despite the hardships and limitations, he persists in his efforts to bring peace to the departed souls in Gaza City.
