Gaza’s Civil Defence says it has lost at least 80 percent of its capability following over seven months of ferocious and indiscriminate Israeli bombing.
Mahmoud Basal, a Civil Defence spokesperson said their teams are receiving constant calls for help from wounded civilians, but have not been able to respond to them.
Basal added that Civil Defence teams are now largely unable retrieve civilians trapped under the rubble due to the intensity of Israeli bombing and direct attacks on them.
He said the Israeli army was using "all possible means" to kill Palestinians and are targeting civilians without any regard for international law.
On Monday, Civil Defence teams said that current Israeli bombardment was reminiscent of the first days of the war on Gaza, and medical teams have little resources left to respond to needs.
The Civil Defence called on the United Nations and humanitarian organisations to immediately intervene and assist with engineering equipment to help rescue bodies from the rubble of destroyed buildings.
The organisation estimate that over 10,000 people are buried under the rubble.
"For months, we’ve been working with simple equipment, which drains us of our time and effort," Bassal said, highlighting that there is no fuel to operate vehicles used to retrieve bodies.
UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres has renewed his calls for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza as the death toll exceeded 35,000. Most of the casualties have been women and children.
Israel’s war on Gaza has plunged the Palestinian territory into a deep humanitarian crisis, destroying infrastructure, medical facilities, and levelling entire neighbourhoods.
Around 1.7 million Palestinians have been forcibly displaced from their homes. The UN has estimated it could take up to 14 years to remove the vast amount of rubble caused as a result of Israeli bombardment.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) says only 11 out of Gaza’s 36 hospitals are now partially functioning, while disease is spreading due to overcrowding, a lack of clean water and critically low medical supplies.
Israel’s unprecedented attacks on Gaza have also caused widespread starvation, with the World Food Programme (WFP) stating that around 1.1 million people in Gaza are facing catastrophic levels of hunger, with the situation particularly dire in the north.
At least 28 children have died because of malnutrition and dehydration since February, according to the Palestinian ministry of health.
