In Gaza City, members of the Al-Drimli family are tirelessly searching through the debris of their former home, using rudimentary tools like shovels, buckets, and wheelbarrows to locate the body of a neighbor who was sheltering with them during an airstrike in November 2023. Despite the scorching midday sun, the men work diligently, their faces shielded from the heat under orange towels or hoods of sweatshirts. The clatter of shovels against rubble and the hum of an electric saw resonate through the air as they laboriously clear the wreckage of the six-story residential building.
Having already found the remains of their own family members at the site, the Al-Drimli family now focuses on recovering their neighbor’s body. According to the Gaza Health Ministry, there are an estimated 8,000 to 10,000 bodies still buried under the rubble nearly three years after the conflict between Israel and Hamas began.
The scarcity of excavators in Gaza has compelled many Palestinians, including the Al-Drimli family, to resort to manual labor due to the high costs and limited availability of heavy equipment. Ayman Al-Drimli explained to a freelance videographer that they rely on hand tools because machinery is prohibitively expensive and scarce in the region.
Reports indicate that there are only about a dozen operational excavators in Gaza, with shortages of essential resources like fuel and spare parts making maintenance challenging. Samir Sabra, who operates two excavators in the area, highlighted the financial strain of running the equipment, emphasizing the difficulties in sustaining the machinery under the current conditions.
Despite the ceasefire agreement last year aiming to facilitate the entry of heavy machinery for debris clearance, the situation on the ground has not improved significantly. Mahmoud Basal of the Palestinian Civil Defence mentioned that excavators were targeted during the conflict, exacerbating the shortage of equipment for recovery efforts.
The ongoing border restrictions imposed by Israel on fuel, oil, and spare parts have hindered the maintenance and operation of critical machinery in Gaza, including equipment necessary for humanitarian and rescue operations. The International Committee for the Red Cross has been collaborating with local authorities to address the challenges posed by the limited access to heavy equipment in the region.