Red Cross warns thousands buried in Gaza may never be identified

The International Committee of the Red Cross says the chances are rising that thousands of Palestinians buried under Gaza’s rubble will never be identified, because recoveries are moving slowly and many victims have not yet been reached. The warning comes as the Guardian reports on the postwar search effort in Gaza, where families are still waiting for answers about missing relatives.

Pat Griffiths, a Red Cross spokesman in Jerusalem, said, “There is no doubt these bodies could become difficult to identify soon.” He added that the longer human remains stay buried, the greater the likelihood they will be found in advanced stages of decomposition, “even skeletons,” and that forensic experts lose circumstantial evidence needed to verify identity. He said search teams need access to all suspected burial sites and reiterated the Red Cross’s ongoing direct dialogue with the relevant authorities to allow such equipment into Gaza.

Since the fragile U.S.-brokered ceasefire took effect in October 2025, Palestinians have begun clearing about 61 million tons of debris, roughly 20 times the total amount generated by conflicts worldwide since 2008. Gaza health officials aligned with Hamas say at least 10,000 people are buried under the ruins, and the figure could be as high as 14,000. So far, rescue teams have relied mostly on shovels, hoes, wheelbarrows, rakes, and bare hands.

Requests to Israel to allow excavators and other heavy equipment, which would speed up recoveries, have gone unanswered, and Israeli officials cited by the Guardian said there is no authorization to bring in equipment used to recover bodies. Forensic specialists say identification can still rely on age, height, fingerprints, dental records, personal items, and the location and time a body is found, but all of those clues can disappear as remains are delayed, displaced, damaged, or exposed to moisture and animals. Griffiths said, “This is what is at stake, the right of thousands of families to know the fate of their loved ones.”