'We carry victims, not weapons': Gaza's Civil Defence presses on under Israeli fire

In Gaza's shattered neighbourhoods, where concrete dust chokes the air and cries for help pierce the silence, members of the Palestinian Civil Defence risk death every hour.

With little more than hand tools and determination, they claw through collapsed buildings, pulling out the living when they are lucky, and the dead when they are not.

"The Israeli army deliberately attacks residential civilian facilities in Gaza, without distinguishing between children, women, and elderly people," Raed al-Dahshan, a Gaza-based civil defence officer, told The New Arab.

"Most of the time, without any prior warning, the Israeli army fires massive rockets that turn houses to ash and kill those inside," added the 55-year-old father of four.

Whenever the Civil Defence crew hear explosions, they rush to the targeted areas but often arrive too late to save lives.

As fires erupt and buildings crumble, teams often have to divide their limited personnel.

"While one section puts out a fire, another tries to rescue families buried under the rubble," al-Dahshan said.

"We lack sufficient equipment, which delays our response," he said. "At times, we feel helpless, especially when we lose people who were alive and calling for help."

"Our mission is a race against time and death. But we must keep trying to help our people, even under Israeli attacks."

In Gaza City's al-Shujaiya neighbourhood, a five-storey building collapsed after a direct hit. Al-Dahshan vividly recalls the voice of a trapped mother pleading from under the rubble for someone to save her daughter.

"She said her girl was still breathing," he said. "We dug for six hours. We saved the child, but the mother died minutes later. Every second matters, but we don't have advanced equipment or detection tools — we work with whatever we can find."

"Such delays have become deadly," he explained.

Israel's war has destroyed much of Gaza's infrastructure, drawing accusations of war crimes from international observers and Palestinian officials.

Gaza's Civil Defence is not only overwhelmed, but also under attack. Israeli airstrikes have directly hit several of its main headquarters in Gaza City, Khan Younis, Beit Lahia, Jabalia, and Rafah, paralysing emergency response networks throughout the besieged enclave.

"We have lost over 111 of our own crew members, volunteers, and even civilians who rushed to help," Mahmoud Basal, spokesperson for the Civil Defence, told TNA. 

"We are barely operational. Most of our stations and equipment are out of service," he said. 

Some victims remain unrecovered, their names missing from official records.

"Entire families are still under the rubble, especially in border areas where shelling continues and roads are destroyed," Basal added. "Their stories may never be told."

With resources dwindling, the Civil Defence has turned to volunteers. Among them is Abdullah Abu al-Khair, a young man who joined after his friend, a rescue worker, was killed in an airstrike.

"I did not know what I was getting into," Abu al-Khair told TNA. "Then I saw the bodies of children. We pulled them out with our bare hands. Nothing prepares you for that."

Ordinary citizens have become first responders, too. Gaza resident Ibrahim Hamada, a Palestinian from the al-Daraj neighbourhood in Gaza City, was walking through his neighbourhood when the Israeli army attacked a building close by.

"I was terrified," he recalled. "But I ran inside. I rescued children and women. I carried out body parts. They were eating lunch, just having lunch." This kind of community solidarity is vital, but does little to shield rescuers from constant danger. 

On al-Nasr Street, a high-explosive missile reduced a multi-storey building to rubble. Crews could not reach it with their damaged bulldozers, so they dug a narrow tunnel by hand.

"It took us 10 hours to reach the basement," Iyad al-Khatib, a civil defence officer, told TNA. "We found a mother clutching her three children. They were already gone."

Elsewhere, the threat comes not just from the ruins, but from the sky. In the Zeitoun neighbourhood, a home sheltering displaced families from northern Gaza was bombed. As Civil Defence teams approached, a drone fired a warning missile near them, forcing a retreat.

"We go out knowing we may not come back," al-Khatib said. "Every shift, we say goodbye to our families like it is the last time."

For al-Dahshan, Basal, al-Khatib and their colleagues, the psychological toll is crushing.

"Sometimes I carry the remains of a child, and I see my own children," al-Dahshan said. "These moments do not fade. But we have to continue."

The numbers reflect a crisis of capacity. Gaza's government media office said that Civil Defence forces, including both staff and volunteers, number fewer than 1,500 across the Strip. 

"Most of their vehicles are destroyed or barely functioning. At least 28 firefighting and rescue trucks have been targeted and destroyed," the media office said in a press statement. 

Even with a ceasefire, the media office warns, people will keep dying unless safe corridors are opened and equipment is delivered. "Without proper support, we simply can’t reach everyone under the rubble. A truce isn’t enough," it said. 

Despite the death and destruction, Gaza's Civil Defence endures. They arrive in alleyways still echoing with screams, knowing full well that they too could become the next victim.

"We are not a side in this war," Basal concluded. "We carry victims, not weapons. Our message is humanitarian. We just hope the world will finally hear it."