Hundreds of Gazans gathered on Tuesday for funeral prayers for 112 people killed at the start of the war, almost three years ago, but whose bodies were only recently retrieved from under the rubble.
The bodies were covered in Palestinian flags and placed near the ruins of the destroyed homes they were recovered from during a two-week operation.
An Israeli strike on November 22, 2023 killed 308 people, including 40 children, 30 women and seven people with disabilities, according to the Palestinian Civil Defence. The remains of the 112 people were recovered from the ruins of a six-story residential building in the Al Sabra neighbourhood of Gaza city.
The blast, in the early weeks of the war, flattened the block, making it difficult to determine how many people were inside. Members of two families – Abu Sharia and Al Hassayneh – had been sheltering there when the attack took place. Some of their remains have not been recovered.
“We were unable to recover their bodies,” said Dr Jadou Abu Sharia, who lost relatives in the attack. “We believe they are either still trapped beneath the rubble or their bodies were completely destroyed by the intensity of the bombardment.”
Israel's war on Gaza began on October 7, 2023, after Hamas launched a surprise attack into Israel. The conflict has killed more than 73,000 Palestinians, a figure rights groups warn could be much higher given the thousands believed to be under the rubble. In May, Gaza's civil defence said at least 8,000 bodies were estimated to be trapped under destroyed buildings.
The UN estimates that more than 61 million tonnes of rubble remain in Gaza, with less than 1 per cent of the debris from the war removed so far. Israel still refuses to allow suitable machinery to enter Gaza to help remove rubble.
A Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment report issued by the World Bank, UN and EU this year said Gaza requires $71 billion to rebuild from the latest war. The estimate is seven times the combined cost of rebuilding after the 2008, 2014 and 2021 wars.
The recovery operation, carried out in co-operation with the International Committee of the Red Cross, relied almost entirely on the limited equipment available inside the war-torn enclave.
“The operation continued for several days using only basic equipment,” Mohammad Al Mughayyir, director of humanitarian support and international co-operation at the Palestinian Civil Defence, told The National on Tuesday.
“Most of the bodies were recovered in an advanced state of decomposition,” Mr Al Mughayyir said. “A number of the remaining bodies could only be identified through their clothing or personal belongings, while many others could not be identified at all.”
Those whose identities were confirmed had their names written on their body bags, while unidentified remains were marked simply as “Unknown” before burial.
“We found some children who had died while still in their mothers' arms,” Mr Al Mughayyir said.
Mohammad Abu Dan, the civil defence officer who supervised the operation, said the severe shortage of heavy machinery forced rescue workers to rely largely on hand tools and, in many cases, only their hands.
“The greatest challenge was the lack of equipment,” Mr Abu Dan told The National. “Our teams had to dig beneath massive slabs of concrete and twisted steel by hand to recover human remains and the bodies of children.”
“There were victims whose relatives confirmed they were inside, but we could not find their remains,” Mr Abu Dan said. “It is possible that some bodies were completely obliterated.”
He called for international assistance to allow heavy machinery into Gaza so recovery teams could remove debris and retrieve remaining victims.
“These people deserve to be recovered and buried with dignity,” he said.
