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AMMAN — More than two years after the outbreak of Gaza war, thousands of Palestinian families in Gaza continue to grapple with the devastating human toll of the conflict, as efforts to recover the remains of victims and rebuild shattered communities remain hampered by widespread destruction and limited resources.
According to reports published by the United Nations on July 10 and 11, search teams are still combing through the rubble of destroyed neighbourhoods in an effort to recover the bodies of those believed to remain buried beneath collapsed buildings, while displaced families are struggling to rebuild their lives in temporary housing.
In one neighbourhood of Gaza City, heavy machinery continues clearing debris from a residential building destroyed during the war.
Civil defence personnel and local recovery teams say the work has become increasingly difficult as time passes, with shortages of heavy equipment and fuel slowing operations.
Local recovery team member Asaad Shreim said that the building was believed to contain the remains of 44 victims.
"So far, we have only been able to recover 13 of them," he said, noting that residents and civil defence teams had retrieved most of the bodies during the immediate aftermath of the attack.
The UN said that the removal of millions of tonnes of rubble is being hindered by Israeli restrictions on the entry of heavy machinery, as well as the danger posed by unexploded ordnance scattered beneath the debris.
Among those waiting for answers is Ramez Nabhan, who lost his wife, three children and several relatives during the early days of the war.
Standing beside the ruins where his family once sought shelter, Nabhan said that rescue workers had initially recovered only a handful of victims.
"There was no equipment to extract bodies, no fuel or necessary resources were available, and the conditions were not safe for rescue teams to operate," he said. "We waited a long time, and today we face a new ordeal: recovering the remains and then burying them."
Recovery teams have since located the remains of several of his relatives, but the process of identification and burial remains emotionally overwhelming.
"It is extremely difficult for the wound to reopen," Nabhan said. "These are my children, and there are no words that can describe what I feel inside."
The UN warned that identifying remains has become increasingly complicated due to natural decomposition and the limited availability of forensic and DNA testing capabilities, prolonging the anguish of families still searching for missing loved ones.
According to the latest joint Damage and Needs Assessment issued by the UN and its partners in April 2026, the war has claimed more than 71,000 Palestinian lives and injured more than 171,000 people.
Thousands remain missing, with many believed to still be trapped beneath collapsed buildings.
Alongside the search for the missing, humanitarian agencies are supporting efforts to help displaced families begin rebuilding their lives.
Mayyada, originally from Jabalia refugee camp, said that she has lost count of how many times her family has been displaced since the conflict began in October 2023.
"From our home to another home, from school to school, from tent to tent," she said. "Every time we faced many struggles."
Before the war, Mayyada worked as a portrait artist. Since then, she said, survival has replaced creativity as the family's daily priority.
The family is among those receiving assistance through the Gaza Neighbourhood Approach project, implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in coordination with the Palestinian Authority, UN agencies and other partners.
The initiative provides temporary housing alongside debris removal, rehabilitation of essential services, emergency employment opportunities and restoration of basic infrastructure.
Although the temporary shelter has restored a measure of privacy and stability, Mayyada said that her family's greatest hope remains returning to a permanent home.
"More than anything," she said, "I still wish to have my own home, to have peace in my mind and to have peace around me."
