# Gaza body recovery continues amid rising missing persons > Live situation record from CLSTR: https://clstr.news/situations/gaza-body-recovery-efforts > Updated: 2026-09-09T15:46:02.000Z. Sources: 129. Developments: 10. Mid‑July 2026 Gaza’s Civil Defence began a second, 800‑hour phase to locate 1,072 bodies believed buried under the rubble of 147 destroyed homes across the central, northern and Gaza governorates. The first phase had cleared debris from 54 buildings and recovered 333 of the 559 targeted bodies, leaving 226 still missing. By early August, a 136‑hour manual search in the Sabra neighbourhood of Gaza City retrieved 112 bodies – including 40 children, 38 women and seven persons with disabilities – while 157 individuals remain missing. On 8 August 2026, crews concluded a four-day search at the “Karam” building in Gaza City, recovering 19 bodies, primarily women and children. By mid-August, teams recovered 21 more remains from the Batniji and Gharbiyah family homes in eastern and western Gaza City, respectively. Operations then shifted to the al-Maghribi home in the Zeitoun neighborhood, where officials believe 40 more people may be located. In late August, teams in Zeitoun retrieved the remains of nine members of the Salmi family from a home targeted in November 2023, noting that some individuals had remained trapped for nearly three years. By late August 2026, the scale of the missing persons crisis expanded, with approximately 11,200 people unaccounted for. In early September 2026, recovery efforts continued in the Al-Zaytoun area of Gaza City, where Palestinian Civil Defense teams retrieved 55 bodies and remains from the collapsed Malaka family building. This structure had previously sheltered dozens of displaced persons following an Israeli bombardment approximately two years prior. Recovery official Mohammed Abu Dan stated that the total number of missing individuals from the site is expected to exceed 60. Search operations in Al-Zaytoun have faced significant obstacles due to a severe shortage of heavy machinery, with teams relying on a single excavator to clear hundreds of tons of debris. ## Claims - Gaza civil defence recovered 112 bodies from the rubble in the Sabra neighbourhood of Gaza City. (disputed by 22 sources) - The recovered bodies included 40 children, 38 women and seven people with disabilities. (disputed by 22 sources) - Nineteen bodies, mostly women and children, were recovered from a destroyed residential building in Gaza City. (disputed by 12 sources) - The recovered remains include approximately 60 children. (disputed by 10 sources) - Approximately 70 of the recovered remains were children. (disputed by 7 sources) - The recovery operation lasted 136 hours and was carried out mainly by hand. (corroborated by 22 sources) - Another 157 bodies remain missing in the same area. (corroborated by 22 sources) - The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) supported the operation. (corroborated by 21 sources) - Approximately 100 people were recovered from the rubble in Gaza City's Zeitoun neighborhood. (corroborated by 21 sources) - The excavation was carried out mainly by hand because heavy machinery is prohibited from entering Gaza. (corroborated by 20 sources) - The Gaza Ministry of Health reports more than 73,300 deaths since the October 2023 offensive. (corroborated by 19 sources) - The victims were killed when Israeli forces struck residential buildings in the Zeitoun neighborhood approximately two and a half years ago. (corroborated by 16 sources) ## Timeline ### 2026-09-09: Gaza City holds mass funeral for 73 children recovered from rubble Over 100 Palestinians, including 73 children, were buried in a mass funeral in Gaza City after being recovered from rubble, marking the second such event for children in one month. 2 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/gaza-city-holds-mass-funeral-for-73-children-recovered-from-rubble ### 2026-09-05: Gaza City: Mass funeral held for 100 recovered from Zeitoun rubble Palestinians in Gaza City held mass funerals for approximately 100 people, including many children, whose remains were recovered from the rubble of homes destroyed in strikes years ago. 37 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/gaza-civil-defense-recovers-55-bodies-from-zeitoun-neighborhood-rubble ### 2026-09-04: Gaza ceasefire violations continue amid efforts to recover remains from rubble Israeli military strikes continue in Gaza despite a ceasefire, while civil defense teams struggle with limited machinery to recover an estimated 150 remains from the collapsed Engineers Tower in Nuseyrat. 13 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/nuseyrat-search-begins-for-150-bodies-trapped-in-gaza-building-rubble ### 2026-09-03: Gaza civil defence recovers 55 remains from Zeitoun residential building Gaza civil defence teams recovered 55 Palestinian remains from the rubble of the Malka family home in Gaza City, a building destroyed by an Israeli strike in November 2023. 6 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/gaza-city-55-bodies-recovered-from-collapsed-building ### 2026-08-31: Gaza missing persons crisis: 11,200 people unaccounted for Approximately 11,200 people remain missing in the Gaza Strip, including children like six-year-old Jalal al-Barsh, leaving families in limbo as authorities fail to provide information on their fate. 2 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/gaza-missing-persons-crisis-11200-people-unaccounted-for ### 2026-08-23: Gaza search operations continue for thousands missing under rubble Civil defense teams in Gaza struggle to recover thousands of missing persons and remains from beneath rubble amid a critical shortage of heavy machinery and specialized rescue equipment. 2 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/gaza-search-operations-continue-for-thousands-missing-under-rubble ### 2026-08-15: Gaza Civil Defense recovers 21 bodies from ruins, begins search for 40 others Gaza Civil Defense teams recovered 21 bodies from destroyed homes and have begun searching for 40 others under the rubble, facing severe shortages of fuel and heavy machinery. 2 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/gaza-civil-defense-recovers-21-bodies-from-ruins-begins-search-for-40-others ### 2026-08-08: Gaza City recovery crews retrieve 19 bodies from destroyed building rubble Gaza civil defence crews recovered 19 bodies, mostly women and children, from the Karam building in Gaza City. Efforts to find over 8,000 missing people are hampered by a critical shortage of heavy machinery. 16 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/gaza-city-recovery-crews-find-19-bodies-under-residential-rubble ### 2026-08-01: Gaza: 112 bodies recovered as Israeli attacks kill 18 and Israel raises security concerns over Hamas disarmament plan Israeli attacks on 2 Aug 2026 killed 18 in Gaza despite Trump’s Hamas disarmament plan; Gaza civil defence recovered 112 bodies (40 children, 38 women, 7 disabled) after 136 hours of hand‑digging, with 157 more 62 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/gaza-civil-defense-recovers-112-bodies-from-sabra-rubble ### 2026-07-19: Gaza civil defense launches second phase to recover 1,072 missing bodies Gaza Civil Defence begins a second 800‑hour phase to locate 1,072 missing bodies under 147 homes, with limited equipment and calls for more aid, while an Egyptian mission reports aid restrictions and civilian‑s 5 sources. https://clstr.news/cluster/gaza-civil-defense-begins-phase-two-of-missing-martyrs-exhumation --- Cite as: Gaza body recovery continues amid rising missing persons. CLSTR, https://clstr.news/situations/gaza-body-recovery-efforts