“We know that much of this machinery and equipment remains almost impossible to bring into Gaza right now,” said the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) spokesperson in Al-Quds, warning, in an exclusive interview with The Guardian, that “there is no doubt that these bodies could soon become difficult to identify.”
■ The Israeli genocide in Gaza left the Strip buried under more than 61.5 million tonnes of debris, with an estimated 10,000 to 14,000 bodies still trapped beneath collapsed buildings.
■ Pat Griffiths told The Guardian, “The longer it takes for human remains to be recovered, the more difficult it can be to identify them. The longer the deceased lie beneath the rubble, the more likely they will be in advanced stages of decomposition – even skeletonised – when eventually recovered.”
■ In turn, Dr Ahmed Dahir, Gaza’s forensic medicine director, told The Guardian that “In some cases, we were surprised to find that a person reported missing for only two weeks had turned into bones bearing signs of animal scavenging, with nothing left but bones. Under normal conditions, reaching this stage due to environmental factors and weathering usually takes between six months and one year.”