Authorities in besieged Gaza have recovered the bodies and remains of 12 more Palestinians from beneath the rubble of homes destroyed by Israeli bombardment in Al-Taj Square in Gaza City, raising the number of victims from the area to 75.
In a brief statement on Thursday, the Civil Defence said its teams in Gaza governorate, in cooperation with an Egyptian committee, continued search and recovery operations for the 12th consecutive day beneath the rubble of destroyed homes in the Yarmouk neighbourhood.
The search operations are part of the second phase of the "Recovery of Martyrs' Bodies" project launched by the Civil Defence on July 19 to recover the remains of missing people from the buildings destroyed by Israel.
The second phase includes searches under the rubble of homes in Gaza, northern Gaza and central Gaza governorates and is being carried out over 800 working hours.
According to previous Civil Defence data, the search operations cover 147 destroyed homes believed to contain the bodies of 1,072 people under the rubble.
Recovery operations have proceeded slowly due to shortages of necessary equipment and machinery, despite a ceasefire agreement in force in Gaza since October 10, 2025, which Palestinian authorities say provides for the entry of heavy equipment and machinery to help remove rubble and recover victims.
In October 2025, Gaza's Government Media Office said around 9,500 Palestinians had been missing since the start of the Israeli genocide on the blockaded enclave, including people whose bodies remain beneath the rubble of destroyed buildings and others whose fate remains unknown.
The first phase of the "Recovery of Martyrs' Bodies" project began in late November 2025 and recovered around 333 bodies, leaving 559 people reported missing beneath the rubble of 54 homes and buildings.
Gaza genocide
Israel has killed over 73,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and wounded more than 174,000 others in its genocide in Gaza since October 2023.
Experts contend that the actual death toll significantly exceeds what the Gaza authorities have reported, estimating it could be around 200,000.
Israel has reduced most of the blockaded enclave to ruins and displaced the entire population. It continues to occupy 60 percent of Gaza.
A ceasefire took place in October of 2025. Still, Israel has continued to violate it daily, killing at least 1,375 Palestinians and wounding 4,686 others, making it a one-sided truce.
