10/12/2025October 12, 2025
‘Everything is a priority’ with bodies still under rubble — Gaza aid worker
Amjad Shawa, the head of the Palestinian NGO Network (PNGO), has described the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, where people urgently need shelter, clean water and medical care.
“Everything is a priority,” Shawa told DW. “Starting from collecting the bodies which have been for months under the rubble of their homes. In the last few days, hundreds of these bodies have been collected.”
Shawa welcomed the entry of commercial aid trucks at border crossings into Gaza. But he stressed that the shipments must go beyond food to include shelter materials, as well as tents, blankets and mattresses as winter approaches.
“It’s cold at night for these children,” he said. “They lost their clothes, everything.”
He also warned that the water infrastructure in Gaza had been destroyed, leaving only a very limited supply for drinking and daily use.
According to Shawa, around 82% of health facilities in the Gaza Strip were no longer functioning, and roughly 1,600 medical personnel had been killed, with 360 others detained by Israeli forces.
“Israel engineered this chaos in Gaza,” he told DW.
Asked what specific risks returning residents faced, Shawa said many had already been injured by unexploded ordnance left behind in homes and neighborhoods.
“We have already received so many injured cases because of these unexploded devices left by the Israelis … we’ve talked with the UN and international organizations to urgently send specialized crews and equipment,” he said.
Shawa said bulldozers and other heavy machinery were needed to clear the debris that is blocking Gaza’s roads.
He estimated that 1.5 million Palestinians had lost their homes. Without a coordinated, speedy reconstruction plan, Shawa warned that displacement could last for years.
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