Red Cross warns thousands buried under Gaza rubble risk never being identified

What happened

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has revealed to the Guardian that thousands of Palestinians buried beneath Gaza’s rubble face mounting risks of never being identified due to slow recovery efforts and the passage of time leading to advanced decomposition. Pat Griffiths, the ICRC spokesperson in Jerusalem, highlighted that delays mean remains may become skeletonised, making identification increasingly difficult.

Outside Brief is treating this as a source-led account. Any disputed responsibility, casualty figure, battlefield claim or single-source assertion should be treated as unconfirmed/hearsay unless confirmed by another reliable source or a named official. Since the fragile ceasefire brokered by the US began in October, recovery teams in Gaza have started digging through approximately 61 million tonnes of debris—estimated to be many times the debris from all conflicts worldwide since 2008. Health officials estimate at least 10,000 people may be buried under the rubble, with some experts suggesting the number could be closer to 14,000. Rescue teams currently lack heavy machinery and have only rudimentary tools such as shovels and pickaxes to conduct recovery work.

Repeated requests to Israeli authorities to allow the entry of excavators and heavy equipment into Gaza remain unanswered, severely limiting the speed and efficiency of retrieval efforts. Griffiths stressed that machinery is critical to access sites where bodies may be located and to preserve vital forensic evidence needed for identification.

Known from the source

• The ICRC reports thousands of Palestinians remain buried beneath rubble in Gaza with identification increasingly difficult due to delayed recovery and decomposition.
• An estimated 61 million tonnes of debris exist in Gaza, roughly 20 times more than the global conflict average since 2008.
• At least 10,000 people are thought to be buried, with some experts estimating up to 14,000.
• Rescue teams in Gaza use primarily manual tools and lack heavy machinery; Israeli authorities have not allowed excavators into Gaza despite repeated requests.
• Forensic experts warn that time degrades remains and evidence critical for identification, including DNA and personal items.

What remains unclear

Forensic experts explain that with time, distinguishing features used for identification—such as facial traits, fingerprints, and personal effects—degrade due to environmental factors and animal activity. The longer remains lie unrecovered, the harder it is to establish identities, even by DNA. Gaza’s forensic medicine director, Dr Ahmed Dahir, noted that some bodies have already reached an advanced stage of decomposition within weeks, a process that normally takes months to a year under usual conditions.

What remains unclear: Confirm whether the central claim is corroborated; until then treat it as unconfirmed/hearsay. Verify casualty numbers and estimates for buried persons under rubble from independent Gaza health or humanitarian sources. Confirm the current status of requests to Israeli authorities for heavy machinery access or changes in policy. Check if any DNA testing equipment has recently been allowed into Gaza by Israel.

Evidence note

Outside Brief has kept this brief source-led and attributed. Claims should be read alongside the original source linked below.

Original source: The Guardian Gaza. Open the source.