In Gaza City’s center, members of the Al-Drimli family are engaged in a painstaking search for the remains of a friend and neighbor buried beneath the wreckage of their former residence. Armed only with shovels, buckets, a wheelbarrow, and sheer determination, they toil under the scorching midday sun. The atmosphere is filled with the clanging of shovels against debris and the hum of an electric saw.

Transporting rubble in a dusty wheelbarrow to a nearby heap, the men struggle to make a dent in the vast piles of shattered cinder blocks and twisted metal left behind from the destruction of a six-story building by an airstrike in November 2023. Despite having already located the remains of their own family members, the Al-Drimli family now focuses on finding a missing neighbor who sought refuge with them during the tragedy.

According to the Gaza Health Ministry, an estimated 8,000 to 10,000 bodies still lie buried under the rubble almost three years after the onset of the conflict between Israel and Hamas. Due to the scarcity of excavators in Gaza, many Palestinians, like the Al-Drimli family, have resorted to manual labor using basic tools to search for their loved ones.

Ayman Al-Drimli explained to a freelance videographer that they rely on manual labor due to the exorbitant costs and unavailability of equipment in the current situation. Reports indicate that Gaza only has around a dozen barely operational excavators, as heavy machinery operators struggle to maintain the few machines that survived the war due to a lack of spare parts, fuel, and oil.

Samir Sabra, along with his son Uday, operate two of the remaining excavators in Gaza. Samir highlighted the financial challenges of running the equipment, emphasizing the high costs of essential resources like oil. Despite the overwhelming demand for their services, they face difficulties maintaining the equipment due to the lack of spare parts and maintenance support.

Uday Sabra mentioned the continuous influx of requests for their services as he tirelessly works at a site alongside the Palestinian Civil Defence volunteers. With limited machinery available, the search for remains is prolonged, emphasizing the extensive damage and destruction that requires more resources than a couple of machines can provide.

Mahmoud Basal, a spokesperson for the Palestinian Civil Defence, revealed that the scarcity of excavators is a result of deliberate targeting during the war. Despite a ceasefire agreement that included provisions for more heavy machinery, the reality on the ground remains unchanged, prolonging the process of recovering bodies from the rubble.

Humanitarian aid groups have raised concerns over Israeli restrictions on essential supplies like fuel, oil, and spare parts, hindering efforts to maintain critical machinery in the region. The United Nations has highlighted the impact of restrictions on heavy equipment on recovery operations, urging the international community to facilitate the entry of machinery to expedite the process.

While the Israeli Defence Forces claim to adhere to international law regarding the entry of heavy equipment into Gaza, the ongoing restrictions continue to impede recovery efforts. Uday Sabra persists in his mission to uncover the remains buried beneath the rubble, determined to offer closure to the deceased despite the challenges he faces.