GAZA (Dispatches) – There are an estimated 10,000 Palestinians buried under the rubble of buildings flattened by the Zionist regime’s strikes in the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian civil defense has said. 
It would take two to three years to recover all the bodies unless digging equipment, which has been destroyed by Israel, is urgently replaced and allowed into the war-ravaged strip, it added
In a press release published on Tuesday, the civil defense also warned of the spread of diseases from the decomposed bodies. 
It said high temperatures in the summer will likely increase the threat of epidemics, as heat accelerates decomposition of corpses.
“The General Directorate of Civil Defense renews its appeal to all relevant parties, led by the United Nations and the World Health Organization… to urgently intervene,” the statement read. 
It added that pressure was needed to “allow the entry of heavy equipment necessary to enable our crews to save the lives of those wounded by the ongoing Israeli bombing, as well as to extract the bodies of the martyrs that are decomposing under the rubble, and are causing a health disaster for the population.” 
After most Israeli troops pulled out from Gaza’s populated areas on April 7, rescuers have been able to reach areas previously deemed inaccessible. 
They have recovered more than 700 bodies found in mass graves in al-Shifa hospital and Nasser hospital, the strip’s two biggest health facilities.
They have also launched fresh attempts to remove rubble in some areas in the northern Gaza Strip. 
Using basic tools, they recovered some decomposed corpses from under the debris of buildings earlier this week. 
However, they said their efforts are limited due to the lack of heavy digging machinery. 
“Civil defense crews in the northern Gaza governorate embarked on these efforts, with the support of residents and volunteers using available simple hand tools,” they said. 
“In light of the lack of heavy equipment such as bulldozers and excavators, these efforts will remain insufficient and will not meet the minimum requirements necessary to recover the bodies of thousands of martyrs.” 
Palestinian officials previously estimated there were 7,000 people under rubble who have not been recovered and therefore not recorded in the health ministry’s death toll, which currently stands at over 34,500. 
The new estimate by the civil defense means the death toll could reach at least 44,500 once all bodies are recovered. 
The majority of those killed and buried under debris are children and women.