Gaza Herald – The Gaza Civil Defense has revealed a devastating account of its collapsing operations under the weight of Israel’s ongoing genocide, confirming that more than 53,000 victims have been recovered since the beginning of the genocide. The agency reports that multiple Civil Defense personnel were detained by Israeli forces, with only 11 released so far, as part of what it described as a systematic effort to dismantle emergency response capabilities across Gaza.
The statement accuses Israeli forces of deliberately targeting Civil Defense teams in Rafah, destroying fire and ambulance vehicles as well as Red Crescent units, and striking the Civil Defense station at the Applied College with a direct drone attack. The agency further disclosed that 150 workers are suffering from severe exhaustion, hunger, and malnutrition, with many unable to continue rescue missions amid a total breakdown of humanitarian support.
Operations Collapse Across Gaza
Operationally, the report paints a grim picture: a full cessation of operations in northern Gaza due to Israel’s ground invasion and the destruction of all major facilities, including the arrest of the regional director and the killing of his deputies. Rafah’s operations are 95% paralyzed, Khan Yunis at 80%, Gaza City at 85%, and the central region at 25% capacity. The Civil Defense confirmed that it has been completely barred from operating in wide areas of Rafah and northern Gaza, leaving thousands of bodies unrecovered beneath the rubble.
The scale of destruction to infrastructure is staggering: 14 Civil Defense stations completely destroyed, 3 were partially damaged, and dozens of vehicles were obliterated, including 13 fire trucks, 1 rescue vehicle, 3 rapid response units, 6 water tankers, 2 hydraulic ladders, 10 ambulances, and 13 administrative vehicles. Despite repeated attacks, over 50 direct and indirect strikes, emergency teams managed to repair and redeploy 13 fire and rescue vehicles, 3 water tankers, and 6 ambulances in an effort to sustain life-saving operations.
The Civil Defense statement warns that without immediate international intervention, Gaza’s emergency response system will collapse entirely, deepening the humanitarian catastrophe created by Israel’s continued genocidal campaign. It urged global organizations to intervene urgently to protect rescue teams and ensure humanitarian access, stressing that Israel’s deliberate targeting of emergency and medical workers constitutes a war crime and a direct assault on humanity itself.
