A shaking hand emerges from piles of rubble as a woman frantically seeks help. Her tragedy, trapped under a collapsed building in Gaza, is similar to that of hundreds of Gazans killed in the past week.
She keeps her hand moving in a desperate attempt to be noticed and saved. But with the lack of ambulances and aid workers in most Gaza neighborhoods, rescue operations have become a difficult task.
People try to save survivors from the rubble with their own hands. Literal. No ambulances. No firefighters. No equipment. This woman kept moving her hand so someone would see her. This is happening all over Gaza. pic.twitter.com/SF9exhEd6A
— Nour Odeh 🇵🇸 #NojusticeNopeace (@nour_odeh) October 12, 2023
In such cases, it is up to civilians, who do not have electric scissors or special equipment, to pull the survivors from the rubble.
Israel began airstrikes on suspected Hamas hideouts on Saturday after the Palestinian group launched rocket attacks on them and attacked civilians near border areas.
The situation is expected to worsen as the Israeli army orders one million Gaza residents to evacuate the city and move south. They said Hamas operatives are hiding in tunnels under the city of Gaza and warned that they will “operate significantly” in the city in the coming days.
The United Nations has also moved its operations to southern Gaza after warning of “devastating humanitarian consequences” if such a large-scale move were to take place.
Gaza shares borders with Egypt to the south and Israel to the north and east.