Hundreds of mourners gathered in Gaza City for a mass funeral after the remains of 112 Palestinians, most of them women and children, were recovered nearly three years after an Israeli air strike destroyed a residential block early in the Gaza war.
The victims belonged to the Abu Sharia and Hassayna families and were killed during an Israeli strike on the Sabra neighbourhood on 22 November 2023.
Their bodies were recovered during a two-week operation conducted by Gaza’s Civil Defence with support from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
Footage from the funeral showed rows of body bags draped in Palestinian flags, with some displaying photographs of the deceased before relatives carried them away for burial.
The ceremony is reported to be the largest mass funeral held in Gaza since the war began.
“I think this is a feeling that was supposed to be felt, a feeling of pain, grief and loss,” mourner Ali Abu Sharia said.
“After we managed to retrieve them and bury them, perhaps we can be partially relieved despite the pain of loss and all we’re still living through.”
According to officials, the recovered victims included 40 children, 38 women and seven people with disabilities. The strike occurred during heavy Israeli bombardment, six weeks after the October 2023 Hamas-led attack on southern Israel. One that killed about 1,200 people and saw 251 hostages taken.
The Israeli military has not publicly commented on what specific target was struck in the Sabra neighbourhood. The BBC reported it had requested information from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) but had not received a response.
The Hamas-run health ministry says at least 73,377 people have been killed in Gaza since the war began. The United Nations considers the ministry’s casualty figures generally reliable. However, they do not distinguish between civilians and combatants.
The ICRC said it had supplied equipment, protective gear, body bags and excavators to support the recovery mission.
“We provide training, supporting them to do their work safely, in line with professional practice ensuring the deceased are treated with dignity,” ICRC spokesperson Patrick Griffiths said.
“It’s not an answer any family wants to receive—confirmation that your loved one has been killed—but it’s essential towards them receiving closure and being able to mourn.”
Relatives who attended the recovery operation described the emotional toll of identifying loved ones.
“The kids, what did they do?” asked Nahed al-Hassayna, holding up a school backpack and a child’s shoe recovered from the rubble.
Another survivor, Yousef Abu Sharia, said he had lost nearly his entire family.
“I’m the sole survivor of my family. I lost my mother, my father, my uncle, my cousins; all my family under this rubble.”
Officials believe dozens more bodies remain buried beneath the collapsed building. This, alongside thousands of other people across Gaza, are still missing and presumed trapped under debris from the conflict.
READ ALSO: https://alo360.net/ukraine-strikes-wildberries-sites-moscow/
