Palestinians digging through rubble for bodies of beloved ones

Some Palestinian families in the war-torn areas are seeking individual solutions to extract the bodies of their loved ones from the rubble, as the Civil Defense teams failed to do the job due to a lack of resources.

Suhail Al-Majdalawi lives in the same destroyed house in northern Gaza that contains the remains of his family, who were killed by Israeli bombing. Their bodies are still trapped under the rubble.

Al-Majdalawi chose to live in the rubble of his destroyed home, digging daily by hand in search of the bodies of his family members, having retrieved a number of them.

"My family lived here, and the house was completely destroyed. 17 members of my family were killed. I've retrieved 11 bodies. Six remain under the rubble. The bombing occurred in December 2023, and there are still bodies under this house. I sleep here next to the dead," he said.

Al-Majdalawi waited for a Civil Defense team to help him retrieve the bodies of his sons, wife, and mother, but the help never arrived due to the lack of heavy machinery and equipment.

"After a long wait, I was forced to borrow some light equipment from the neighbors. My younger brother and I began breaking up pieces of concrete by hand. I don't know how to explain it. But I had to extract my mother's body in several pieces," he said.

Since the implementation of a truce in January, Palestinians have been searching and attempting to extract thousands of bodies trapped under the rubble. But a lack of resources hindered the progress.

"We are receiving dozens of calls from citizens asking for help to retrieve bodies from underneath the rubble. However, this requires heavy equipment and cranes, which we do not have, 90 percent of our equipment was destroyed during the war on Gaza. Therefore, we face extreme difficulties in extracting the bodies of those trapped under the rubble," said Raed Al-Dahshan, director of Civil Defense in Gaza.

The Palestinian death toll in the Gaza Strip has climbed to 48,572, with another 112,032 injured, following more than 17 months of Israeli military operations, the Gaza health authorities said on Sunday.

The war has also resulted in the destruction of tens of thousands of homes and widespread damage to infrastructure throughout Gaza.

Palestinians digging through rubble for bodies of beloved ones

Iran will respond resolutely to any acts that violate its national sovereignty and territorial integrity, Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said at a press conference about regional hotspot issues in Tehran on Monday.

Baghaei called the latest deadly U.S. military operation against Houthis in Yemen as a criminal act, saying that it is in violation of the United Nations Charter and fundamental principles of international law and thus deserves condemnation.

He called on the international community to take urgent action regarding this matter.

Furthermore, Baghaei noted that the Houthis in Yemen do not operate under Iran's command, but rather make decisions independently based on their own principles and positions.

"It is crystal clear that Iran will resolutely respond with full force to any acts that infringe upon its territorial integrity, security and national interests. There is no doubt about this. Blaming the courageous actions of the Yemeni people on other countries is an attempt to compensate for their failures over the past 20 months and to suppress the region's and global support for and solidarity with the Palestinian people," said the spokesman.

Regarding the developments in Lebanon and Syria, Baghaei pointed out that the only beneficiary of the regional conflicts is Israel, whose aim is to split Syria and weaken other countries in the region.

Iran hopes that the leadership of the Syrian administration can see through Israel's attempt to incite and create divisions within the region, thereby preventing further escalation of the regional crisis.

Baghaei stressed the serious contrast between the acts and the words of the U.S. who expresses willingness for negotiation and dialogue on the one hand, but continues to impose new sanctions on Iran on the other.

He emphasized that over the past 10 to 15 years, the U.S. has demonstrated its lack of credibility through its actions, as it considers negotiation merely as a tool for political and propaganda purposes, rather than a way for resolving issues.

Iran to resolutely safeguard sovereignty, territorial integrity: FM spokesman