160 corpses retrieved from under rubble in Gaza Strip: Media Office

By Muhammed Majid

GAZA CITY, Palestine - A total of 160 Palestinian corpses have been retrieved from under the rubble, streets and roads in the past 24 hours in the Gaza Strip, government Media Office said Tuesday.

It said civil defense teams use manual and primitive methods to extract the bodies.

"We are facing a real humanitarian disaster that has unfolded with the start of the humanitarian pause," it said. "The occupation army has demolished 300,000 housing units, including 50,000 units completely demolished and another 250,000 partially demolished."

It noted that "displaced people from northern Gaza are still unable to return to their homes because the occupation army preventing them and targeting them with live ammunition."

The office called for the entry of equipment and machinery to help civil defense teams retrieve hundreds of corpses from under the rubble.

"This also will help with lifting the debris of hundreds of thousands of homes, schools, and hospitals destroyed by the occupation army," it added.

Qatar announced an agreement late Monday to extend an initial four-day humanitarian pause for an additional two days, under which more prisoner exchanges will be carried out.

Israel launched a massive military campaign in the Gaza Strip following a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7.

It has since killed over 15,000 people, including 6,150 children and 4,000 women, according to health authorities in the enclave.

The official Israeli death toll stands at 1,200.

*Writing by Ziad Aslan in Ankara