Health authorities in Gaza are facing a unique challenge as they resort to using ice cream freezer trucks to store the bodies of Palestinians who lost their lives in Israeli airstrikes, Reuters reported.
This unconventional approach is due to the high risks involved in transporting these casualties to hospitals, as well as the severe shortage of burial space in cemeteries.
The Gaza Strip has recently experienced one of the most intense bombardments by Israel in response to a significant attack by the Palestinian group Hamas, marking the deadliest attack on Israel in decades.
Dr Yasser Ali of the Shuhada Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir Al-Balah told Reuters that hospital’s morgue can only accommodate ten bodies.
To address the overwhelming numbers of casualties, ice cream freezers have been brought in from local factories, although their exteriors still display advertisements featuring joyful children enjoying ice cream cones. These freezer trucks, typically used for supermarket deliveries, have been repurposed as makeshift morgues to cope with the victims of the devastating conflict.
The toll of Israeli airstrikes has been devastating, with over 2,300 people, including a significant portion of children, reported dead, and nearly 10,000 individuals wounded. The strain on hospitals has resulted in shortages of essential supplies, making it increasingly difficult to provide care for the growing number of wounded patients.
The situation has become so dire that even with the additional freezers, the hospital morgues are overwhelmed, and additional bodies, numbering between 20 and 30, are being kept in tents. Dr. Ali emphasized the crisis in the Gaza Strip, warning that if the conflict continues at this rate, it will become impossible to bury the deceased, as cemeteries are already at full capacity, necessitating the establishment of new burial sites.
In Gaza, authorities are taking steps to prepare mass graves, as the high number of bodies in the morgues of Al-Shifa Hospital has outstripped the capacity of families to bury them. In response to the ongoing arrival of casualties resulting from the occupation’s actions, an emergency cemetery is being readied to accommodate around 100 individuals.
