Bones, flags, and faded hope: Gaza City bids farewell to 112 killed in airstrike
Gaza City residents held a mass funeral for 112 victims, including 40 children, whose remains were recovered from the rubble of an Israeli airstrike that occurred in November 2023. The recovery effort was conducted by civil defense crews using basic tools over an 18-day period.
Why it matters
The event highlights the ongoing humanitarian toll of the Israel-Hamas war and the immense difficulty families face in recovering and burying loved ones long after initial attacks.
For 18 days last month, Palestinian Civil Defense crews searched for the bodies of people killed almost three years ago in the opening weeks of the Hamas-Israel war. This week the remains the crews recovered were finally laid to rest. In Gaza City, community elders, mokhtars, local dignitaries and civil defense crews gathered Tuesday for a mass funeral after the recovery effort that was accomplished with a single excavator and simple hand tools. Before them stood 112 coffins containing bones and fragments of victims from the Abu Sharia and al-Hasayna families, two branches of the same Bedouin clan. Following brief remarks, the funeral procession made its way through the Sabra neighborhood in southern Gaza City. Daily life briefly gave way to the procession. Street vendors paused their work to watch in silence.
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