After almost three years, Gaza families finally bury 50 loved ones

Thousands of Palestinians on Thursday, 20 August, attended the funeral of 50 victims whose remains were recovered by civil defence teams from beneath the rubble of homes targeted by Israeli bombardment in Gaza almost 100 days ago, following days of search and recovery operations carried out in harsh conditions with limited resources.

For their families, the long wait finally ended as the remains were laid to rest with dignity.

The funeral procession began outside the mortuary at Al-Shifa Medical Complex in western Gaza City, attended by relatives of the victims and residents who gathered to perform funeral prayers and accompany the remains on their final journey before burial at the Baptist Cemetery east of the city.

Mourners carried coffins containing the remains of men, women and children, in a scene that reflected the scale of loss caused by Israeli strikes on neighbourhoods and residential homes.

The funeral included the remains of 50 victims, including 12 members of the Batniji family and 17 members of the Sawafiri family, who were killed in separate Israeli bombardments.

Civil Defence teams recovered their remains from beneath the rubble of their homes in the Zeitoun neighbourhood, south of Gaza City, 990 days after the massacre that buried them beneath the debris.

'An image that captures the scale of the tragedy' in Gaza

Mourners raised Palestinian flags and pictures of victims of Israeli massacres, including children, women and elderly people, alongside details about each victim.

They wrapped the remains, or what remained of them, in Palestinian flags, while crowds chanted in anger and mourned the dead.

Mahmoud Bassal, spokesperson for Gaza's Civil Defence agency, described the scene before the funeral as "an image that captures the scale of the tragedy" in the Strip, as the remains of around 50 victims were carried in yet another funeral after rescue teams spent days recovering bodies from beneath the rubble.

Bassal questioned the price being paid by children and women in Gaza as civilians continue to be targeted and more victims are killed, calling for an end to the ongoing massacres and bloodshed Palestinians in the Strip have endured since the start of Israel's offensive on 7 October 2023.

He said thousands of families were still waiting to recover the remains of loved ones, with more than 8,000 bodies still trapped beneath the rubble of destroyed homes and buildings.

Civil Defence teams continue to operate with severely limited equipment and resources, preventing them from reaching, recovering and burying many of the dead with dignity.

Bassal said the repeated funerals reflected not only the scale of the human losses but also the ongoing ordeal of families still waiting for missing relatives beneath the rubble.

Survivors' testimonies

Layan Karam, a child who survived with her family, recounted the moments after she emerged from beneath the rubble while relatives and loved ones remained trapped underneath.

"I came out from beneath the rubble, but I lost a number of my relatives and loved ones," she said in a speech before the funeral.

Layan said she emerged carrying the pain of a family that had lost most of its members, along with memories of loved ones she can now see only in photographs and in her memory.

Speaking about the Batniji family massacre, Jabr Batniji told The New Arab that the home of his cousin, Abdul Rahim Batniji, had sheltered around 40 people, including 27 members of the Batniji family and others from neighbouring families who had been displaced to the house in the Zeitoun neighbourhood.

The house was directly targeted without prior warning on 17 November 2023, killing everyone inside except the homeowner's granddaughter.

Batniji said around 15 victims were recovered two days after the attack, while the remains of 25 more members of the family and neighbouring families were finally recovered during the second phase of operations by Gaza's Civil Defence in cooperation with the International Committee of the Red Cross.

"The victims have not been forgotten since the moment they were killed, but recovering them finally reopened the wounds. Although the step was delayed because of limited resources, it is important to ensure that the victims are buried in a manner befitting them and preserving their dignity," Batniji said.

The Sawafiri family massacre dates back to 2 December 2023, when Israeli warplanes bombed the family's four-storey home at around 1:45 p.m. while family members were inside.

The building was destroyed and a large number of people were killed.

According to information on the massacre, 27 members of the Sawafiri family were killed, including women, children and unarmed civilians, among them 76-year-old Najwa Sawafiri.

Several neighbours and passers-by who happened to be near the home at the time of the bombing were also killed.