KUALA LUMPUR: The echoes of 'takbir' resounded in a residential area in northern Gaza, Palestine, as rescue teams successfully extracted a baby alive from beneath the rubble.
In a viral video recording, the voices of civil defense members participating in the search and rescue (SAR) mission for victims of Israeli gunfire under the rubble can be heard shouting Allahu Akbar (God is the greatest).
They celebrated the success, taking turns to cuddle the rescued baby, still wrapped in swaddling clothes, blinking and looking around in wonder.
According to Instagram account owner Nooh Al-Shaghnobi, who joined the SAR mission, the baby was likely born in the first week of the recent attack, early last October.
Nooh said the residence of the infant was hit by Israeli forces when the baby was about 37 days old, resulting in the baby being trapped under the rubble for several hours before being rescued.
He added that it was even more miraculous that the baby remained alive and unharmed, leading the civil defense members to describe the success as akin to celebrating the birth of their own second child.
"This baby was born in the early days of the war, but he is still alive. It seems like he is resilient amidst the bombing situation in his neighbourhood.
"He was pulled out from the rubble at 37 days old after being trapped for several hours after his house was bombed," he said, sharing the original story on his social account last night.
Nooh mentioned that the SAR mission took about three hours due to the difficulty in reaching the depth where the baby was trapped under the rubble.
"Initially, we thought the baby had already passed away, but with high hopes, we struggled to rescue him.
"Finally, he was found alive and uninjured alongside his deceased parents.
"We cannot describe our feelings; it's like celebrating the birth of these two children when we managed to save him alive from under the rubble," he said.
Reading through the comments section, many netizens were confused whether the baby was trapped for 37 days or if the number of days represented the baby's age, considering that the conflict has now reached its 53rd day.
However, some individuals believed to be closely connected with Nooh clarified that the actual incident occurred a few days ago before the ceasefire took effect.
They explained that due to internet connectivity issues on the day of the incident, Nooh couldn't share the video earlier.
The ongoing SAR operation for undiscovered victims and the cleanup of destroyed residential rubble due to Zionist regime gunfire are being carried out diligently despite a lack of equipment for the responders.
Media reported that Gaza civil defense spokespersons appealed for the involvement of civil defense members from Arab nations, along with equipment, to conduct SAR missions as they have yet to receive aid and firefighting supplies.
They mentioned that thousands of residents are feared to still be trapped under the rubble, with an estimated hundreds of bodies at the Al-Quds Hospital and Al-Rantisi Hospital.