10,000 bodies trapped under rubble in Gaza Strip: Report

“For months, we’ve been working with simple equipment, which drains us (of) our time and effort,” spokesperson Mahmoud Bassal said.

The group noted Israel has destroyed 70 to 80 percent of Civil Defense’s capabilities.

“We demand that the United Nations and humanitarian groups immediately intervene to allow the entry of necessary rescue equipment so we can continue our work, retrieve the missing from under the rubble and provide the required fuel to operate the civil defense vehicles,” Bassal added.

Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip following Palestinian resistance group Hamas’ cross-border attack on Oct. 7, 2023, which killed about 1,200 people.

Nearly 34,950 Palestinians, most of them women and children, have since been killed, and nearly 78,600 others injured, according to Palestinian health authorities.

Seven months into the conflict, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January said it is “plausible” that Tel Aviv is committing genocide in Gaza, ordering it to stop such acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

South Africa on Friday asked the ICJ to order Israel to withdraw from Rafah as part of additional emergency measures over the war.