In the heart of Gaza City, amid the debris and hollow structures, over 100 orange stretchers adorned with Palestinian flags were laid out on Tuesday morning, marking the location of an Israeli airstrike that occurred at the war’s outset.
Among the flags, some were smaller, symbolizing the young victims. The remnants, now reduced to bones, teeth, and shreds of clothing, were finally recovered after nearly three years. These belonged to 112 individuals from the Abu Sharia and Hasayna families, part of the same clan, who perished in the Israeli airstrike on November 23, 2023, in their residential area.
The mournful scene unfolded as hundreds of people, including surviving relatives, congregated to offer prayers for the deceased, who were laid to rest at the nearby Baptist cemetery. The families had been tirelessly searching for their loved ones in collaboration with Gaza’s Civil Defence, the first responders responsible for locating survivors and retrieving remains at strike sites. However, the absence of heavy machinery in the region has impeded their efforts.
Mahmoud Hasayneh, present to lay his brothers to rest, expressed the reopening of old wounds for the family, stating, “Now we will start a new broken heart with this mission and all our family is crying.”
Last month, Youssef Abu Sharia, 23, anxiously waited at the strike site as an excavator painstakingly sifted through rubble, hoping to recover any human remains buried beneath the debris. The scarcity of functioning heavy equipment in Gaza, damaged by Israeli strikes, coupled with restrictions on the import of such machinery, has hindered the search efforts.
Abu Sharia, who lost several family members in the November tragedy, recounted the agonizing search for their remains over the years. Fearing further loss, he and some relatives had separated when the conflict erupted in October 2023, only to tragically lose his parents and brother in the subsequent strike.
At the emotional funeral on Tuesday, relief and sorrow mingled as the families finally laid their loved ones to rest after years of anticipation. Tayseer Abu Sharia, another bereaved relative, described the arduous wait for the Civil Defence’s assistance, which eventually led them to personally dig through rubble with their hands.
With thousands still missing under Gaza’s rubble, the head of the health ministry’s records department estimated that at least 7,400 individuals remain unaccounted for. The actual toll is believed to be significantly higher, as entire families were wiped out in single attacks, leaving no one to report the missing.
Mahmoud Basal, the Civil Defence spokesperson, urged the international community to intervene and facilitate the entry of heavy machinery into Gaza to aid in the recovery efforts. He emphasized the unprecedented nature of the funeral, where 112 individuals were laid to rest simultaneously, underscoring the magnitude of the tragedy.
The poignant burial ceremony commenced with a prayer at the strike site, followed by a procession to the cemetery where the shrouded remains were carried by the crowd, accompanied by chants and prayers. As the families bid their final goodbyes, thoughts lingered on the numerous others still missing, prompting Youssef Abu Sharia to wonder aloud, “Where did they go?”