GAZA CITY, Palestine 

Gaza’s Civil Defense teams on Saturday recovered the bodies of 49 Palestinians killed by ongoing Israeli airstrikes since dawn and over the past two days, the service announced.

Mohammed Al-Mughayer, director of supply and equipment at Palestinian Civil Defense, said: “Our teams have recovered the bodies of 49 Palestinians who were martyred as a result of Israeli shelling at dawn Saturday and during the past two days in southern and central parts of the Gaza Strip."

He told Anadolu that areas from which the bodies were recovered include the residential city of Hamad, areas west of Rafah, and the Ain Jalut Towers area in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza.

“The Palestinians were killed by Israeli artillery shelling, gunfire, or air raids,” the official said.

“Our teams are working in areas from which the Israeli army has withdrawn, north of Khan Younis, to search for missing persons under the rubble of homes targeted by the Israeli occupation, he added.

Israel has continued its brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip following an attack by the Palestinian group Hamas last Oct. 7, despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.

The onslaught has resulted in over 40,300 Palestinian deaths, mostly women and children, and over 93,300 injuries, according to local health authorities.

An ongoing blockade of Gaza has led to severe shortages of food, clean water and medicine, leaving much of the region in ruins.

Israel faces accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which has ordered a halt to military operations in the southern city of Rafah, where over one million Palestinians had sought refuge before the area was invaded on May 6.

*Writing by Ikram Kouachi