The Civil Defense Agency in Gaza has said that many of the wounded Palestinian civilians trapped under the rubble caused by Israeli strikes die due to the lack of rescue equipment.

“Many wounded have been killed under the rubble of their homes, which the occupation destroyed over their heads without prior warning,” Gaza’s Civil Defense Agency said in a statement on Sunday on its Telegram channel.

The relief agency said the Israeli forces do not allow rescue equipment to reach Gaza while the international community remains silent. 

“Our crews were unable to save their lives due to the occupation’s insistence on preventing the entry of rescue equipment and heavy machinery into the Strip, amid your disturbing silence.”

The organization, which has lost many aid workers to Israeli attacks, reported that its rescue workers had come across many situations in Shujayea, Abasan, Rafah and Deir el-Balah, where they could hear wounded Palestinians calling out for help from under the rubble but were unable to get them out alive.

“Now, they are nothing but missing bodies,” it said. “We still wonder: When will the death in the Gaza Strip stop? And how long will this international failure continue?”

In the meantime, in an Israeli air strike on Sunday, a vehicle was targetted in the central city of Deir el-Balah, killing seven people, including six brothers, the civil defence agency said.

Mahmud Abu Amsha, who witnessed the Israeli strike, said those killed were distributing aid to the displaced people in Gaza.

“They do not care about children or people being killed… This aid was being provided to the displaced people,” Abu Amsha told AFP.

A separate Israeli air strike on Sunday heavily damaged one of the few hospitals in Gaza still operating.

The air strike on Al-Ahli Hospital in northern Gaza, also known as the Baptist or Ahli Arab Hospital, had no casualties, but it came a day after the Israeli regime forces seized a key corridor in the territory and signaled plans to expand their terror campaign.

The Israeli air strikes came as aid agencies and the United Nations warned that medicines and related supplies were rapidly running out in Gaza as casualties surged.

“The bombing led to the destruction of the surgery building and the oxygen generation station for the intensive care units,” Gaza’s Civil Defence said.