Israel-Hamas ceasefire: Palestinian rescue workers begin search for people under rubble on day two of Gaza truce

Palestinian Emergency Services search for thousands buried under rubble after the ceasefire in Gaza.

Palestinian Emergency Services said on Monday (January 20, 2025) that a search is underway for thousands of Palestinians believed buried under rubble, as Gaza's residents expressed shock at the devastation on the second day of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

The truce in the 15-month-old war, which has laid waste to the Gaza Strip and inflamed the Middle East, took effect on Sunday (January 19, 2025) with the release of the first three hostages held by Hamas and 90 Palestinians freed from Israeli jails.

Now attention is starting to shift to the rebuilding of the coastal enclave which the Israeli military has demolished in retaliation for a Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. That assault killed 1,200 people with around 250 hostages taken into Gaza, according to Israeli tallies. In the subsequent conflict, more than 47,000 Palestinians have been killed, Gaza's Health Ministry says.

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"We are searching for 10,000 martyrs whose bodies remain under the rubble," said Mahmoud Basal, spokesperson of the Palestinian Civil Emergency Services.

At least 2,840 bodies were melted and there were no traces of them, he said.

Displaced Gazan Mohamed Gomaa lost his brother and nephew in the war.