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Palestinians in Gaza City hold mass funeral for 100 people, including 60 to 70 children, recovered from rubble

Palestinians in Gaza City held a mass funeral for approximately 100 people, including between 60 and 70 children, whose remains were recovered from the rubble of a destroyed residential building in the Zeitoun neighborhood. The remains were carried by family members to the al-Ma’madani cemetery for burial. Many of the victims were members of the Malaka family, which lost 55 members in the conflict. Civil defense crews and family members spent weeks digging through the ruins of homes hit during the war. The recovery process has been prolonged by the Israeli forces, which have destroyed and dug up cemeteries elsewhere in Gaza. Raed al-Dahshan, head of Gaza’s civil defence service, stated that his teams have plans to recover thousands more missing bodies, but the work is being held back by a shortage of heavy machinery and protective equipment. Dahshan noted that the recovery of an estimated 8,000 bodies still believed to be under rubble could be completed in about 90 days with proper equipment. Save the Children’s Regional Director for the Middle East, North Africa and Eastern Europe, Ahmad Alhendawi, noted that children have been putting flowers and lighting candles over the bodies of other children at these mass funerals. Alhendawi stated that Israeli authorities must allow access for search and recovery teams and the entry of heavy machinery to recover those still buried beneath the rubble.

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