Mass burial in Gaza brings together grieving families

Bodies of women, children and people with disabilities are buried after a long rescue operation

On August 4, 2026, Gaza City held a mass funeral that brought together dozens of families to honor 112 Palestinians killed in an Israeli attack on the Sabra neighborhood in November 2023. The victims, mostly women, children and people with disabilities, were finally identified and buried after two weeks of recovery work.

Mass burial in Gaza

Crowds gathered on the streets of Gaza City to witness the funeral, where each body was placed in a line, covered by a Palestinian flag and, in some cases, a photograph of the deceased. The act aimed to provide a moment of farewell, even though the pain of loss remains present.

Identification of the victims

The dead included 40 children, 38 women and seven people with disabilities, belonging to the Abu Sharia and Hassayna families, who are part of the same clan. The attack, which occurred on November 22, 2023, hit a residential block in the Sabra neighborhood, resulting in the death of about 90% of the roughly 180 civilians inside the building.

Recovery operation

The recovery of the bodies was carried out by the Civil Defense, an agency subordinate to the interior ministry administered by Hamas. The work began with a single tractor to remove the rubble, followed by more delicate manual procedures. Families accompanied the teams, guiding them in the search for their loved ones.

Support from the International Committee of the Red Cross

The ICRC supplied materials such as gloves, shovels, protective equipment and body bags, as well as training to ensure the handling was done with dignity. It also provided, for hundreds of hours, two of the few excavators available in Gaza to assist in debris removal.

Family testimonies

Ali Abu Sharia described the feeling of grief and loss, but also expressed that the burial may bring some relief. Nahed al-Hassayna displayed personal items of the child victims, questioning the cause of the tragedy. Yousef Abu Sharia, the sole survivor of his family, reported having lost his mother, father, uncle and cousins, all buried under the same rubble.

With information from BBC News.