Mass funeral honors 112 Palestinians lost in Gaza strike
In the early hours of a dark August day, large crowds gathered in Gaza City to attend a mass funeral for 112 people, largely women and children, who had been killed in an Israeli strike on a residential block in November 2023. The victims were members of the Abu Sharia and Hassayna clans, whose bodies were recovered after a two‑week operation under the rubble of a six‑storey building in the Sabra neighbourhood.
The funeral, said to be the biggest of its kind in Gaza, unfolded as remains were placed in rows, each wrapped in a Palestinian flag and sometimes accompanied by a photograph of the deceased. Families carried the bodies away, offering the final rites that bring a fleeting sense of closure amid ongoing suffering.
"I think this is a feeling that was supposed to be felt – a feeling of pain, grief and loss," said one mourner, Ali Abu Sharia, a relative who spoke of the relief that comes from finally burying the dead. Other family members, including 40 children, 38 women and seven people with disabilities, marked their loss in the ceremony.
The Civil Defence, operating under the Hamas‑run interior ministry, coordinated the heavy‑lift excavation while receiving material and technical support from the International Committee of the Red Cross. Patrick Griffiths, ICRC spokesperson, explained that the organisation supplied gloves, shovels, protective gear, body bags and even rented excavators for hundreds of hours to ease the dangerous recovery work.
Relatives led the crews during the dig, guiding them through the debris, and expressed shock at the loss of loved ones, as one survivor, Yousef Abu Sharia, told reporters that his family had been decimated by the strike. Despite the uncertainty around the exact target of the attack, the recovery operation underscored the need for dignified treatment and accurate accounting of casualties.
The mass funeral occurs as Gaza’s death toll from the recent war stands above 73,000, according to the Hamas‑run health ministry whose figures are regarded by the UN as reliable. The war has left thousands more bodies unaccounted for, with many buried in rubble from intense Israeli air strikes.
For Gaza’s community, the event is a collective act of remembrance that reaffirms cultural burial traditions and the enduring quest for justice in a land marked by continuous conflict. The sight of flags, photographs and families united in grief serves as a powerful reminder of the human cost of war and the resilience of those who continue to mourn.
Hundreds attended the funeral for the members of the Abu Sharia and Hassayna families
