Watan-A Palestinian family of five emerged alive from under the rubble of their home in the Zaitoun neighborhood, east of Gaza City, which was destroyed by Israeli occupation airstrikes nine days ago.

After this long period under the soil and debris, and with the limited resources of the Palestinian Civil Defense (Civil Protection) teams in Gaza, the hope of rescuing members of that family seemed to fade away. However, with the resilience and determination of the rescue team, the heroic saga ended successfully.

During this time, the family members did not have access to food or water, and the rescue team worked using primitive tools, making the rescue operation seem like a “miracle,” according to a video released by the Civil Defense agency in Gaza.

In the footage, rescue team members are seen using a rope to pull the child (around 10 years old) out from under the rubble. With extreme care and vigilance, the teams manually extracted the child, fearing any additional injuries. These scenes documented the dramatic moments of rescuing the child Ahmed, one of the family members, despite them emerging essentially as skeletal remains.

Civil Defense Statement

The Civil Defense agency stated: “After 9 days under the rubble, despite limited resources and the use of primitive manual equipment, our teams managed to rescue the child Ahmed Naeem and four members of his family alive under difficult circumstances.”

They added that their bodies had essentially turned into skeletons after spending 9 days without food or water under the rubble of their home, which was targeted by Israeli airstrikes.

Massacre on February 20

It’s worth noting that on February 20th, the Israeli army announced the start of a military operation in the Zaitoun neighborhood amidst the displacement of hundreds of Palestinian families due to Israeli shelling.

On the same day, the house of this afflicted family, along with other homes, was bombed, leading to the deaths of dozens of civilians and injuring others.