Red Cross: Chances of identifying Gaza martyrs diminish as evidence and primitive equipment are lost

The International Committee of the Red Cross warned that opportunities to identify the dead in Gaza are eroding, stressing that crucial evidence is being lost under the rubble. Spokesperson Pat Griffiths explained that the destruction of medical infrastructure has forced teams to use primitive techniques, and that unexploded ordnance hinders recovery operations.

The International Committee of the Red Cross warned that opportunities to identify the dead in the Gaza Strip are eroding day by day, stressing that crucial evidence is being lost amid the ongoing rubble and destruction. Pat Griffiths, the committee's spokesperson in Jerusalem, stated in remarks to CNN that the gradual and ongoing destruction of medical infrastructure in the Strip has forced medical personnel to rely almost entirely on primitive techniques to identify bodies and victims. Griffiths pointed out that the spread of unexploded ordnance under the rubble multiplies the danger of recovery operations and hinders them, noting that many rescue workers are forced to work with very simple tools, "scraping away rubble a few centimeters at a time" to avoid risks and preserve what remains of the victims' remains. These remarks reflect the scale of the catastrophic challenges facing the civil defense system and medical teams in Gaza, amid a lack of modern equipment and the absence of technical capabilities to identify thousands of bodies and missing persons under the rubble.