The Palestinian Civil Defense has described the massacre in Shuja'iyya as one of the most horrific atrocities since the resumption of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza over a month ago. According to spokesperson Mahmoud Basal, more than 35 civilians—including eight children and eight women—were killed when Israeli warplanes levelled a residential block of eight homes on Wednesday.

With limited access to heavy machinery and critical equipment, Civil Defense crews struggled to rescue those trapped beneath the rubble. “Many of the victims died not from the bombing itself, but because we couldn’t reach them in time,” Basal said. Night-time search operations had to be halted due to extreme danger, further compounding the tragedy.

Basal expressed heartbreak over the likelihood that many bodies will remain buried under debris, with dozens still missing. The massacre, he said, exemplifies the cruelty of the current phase of the war and the unbearable conditions endured by Gaza’s besieged population.

“The world must recognise that what the people of Gaza are experiencing is nothing short of ethnic cleansing,” he warned, urging the international community to act before even more lives are lost beneath the rubble of silence.