Mass funeral in Gaza mourns 112 slain in 2023 Israeli strike

Sun Sep 06 2026 01:27:51 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

Hundreds gathered for a mass burial after a devastating strike left over 100 Palestinians dead, underscoring the human toll of the Gaza war.

In Gaza City, a mass funeral was held for 112 members of the Abu Sharia and Hassayna families who perished in an Israeli strike on 22 November 2023. The victims, mostly women and children, were recovered from rubble after a two‑week effort by the Civil Defence with ICRC support. The ceremony, described as the largest ever in Gaza, drew a broad crowd, offering a moment of collective grief amid a conflict that has already claimed 73,377 lives in the Strip. Survivors spoke of loss and the need for closure, while officials noted the difficulties in coordinating recovery operations under wartime conditions.

Mass funeral in Gaza mourns 112 slain in 2023 Israeli strike

Hundreds gathered in Gaza City for a mass funeral marking the burial of 112 members of the Abu Sharia and Hassayna families, most of whom were women and children killed in an Israeli strike on a residential block in the Sabra neighbourhood on 22 November 2023.

The bodies were recovered only recently after a two‑week‑long operation conducted by the Civil Defence (a Hamas‑run interior ministry body) and supported by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Images of the remains—lined up in rows, each covered with a Palestinian flag—were broadcast to the public, and relatives carried the bodies away to burial sites.

The funeral, described as Gaza’s largest of its kind, brought an emotional atmosphere to the city. "I think a feeling of pain, grief and loss was expected. Now that we have retrieved and buried them, we can feel a partial relief," said mourner Ali Abu Sharia.

A list of the dead included 40 children, 38 women, and seven people with disabilities. The casualties stem from the two closely linked clans that were residents of the area hit by Israel’s bombardment six weeks after the 7 October Hamas‑led assault on southern Israel, which killed about 1,200 civilians in that region.

The BBC has sought information from the Israel Defence Forces on what was targeted, but has not yet received a response. Since the outbreak of hostilities, the Hamas‑run health ministry—whose figures are considered credible by the UN—reports at least 73,377 deaths in Gaza.

ICRC Aid in Recovery Operations

Patrick Griffiths, ICRC spokesperson, explained that the organisation supplied materials (gloves, shovels, protective equipment, body bags) and training to the Civil Defence crews, and rented excavators to aid the delicate work. He noted that while the families do not want confirmation of their loved ones’ deaths, the assistance is critical for them to find closure and mourn properly.

Ottoman‑vintage footage from early in the operation showed a single bulldozer clearing rubble, followed by hand‑work. Civil Defence spokesman Mohammed Basel had earlier warned that the multi‑storey building was shattered, with around 90% of the civilians inside killed. The crews were unable to reach the site immediately due to coordination challenges and danger.

Survivors such as Nahed al‑Hassayna guided recovery teams and expressed anguish over the personal items recovered—a school backpack and a pair of shoes—from the deceased children. "Why were we killed? Who killed us?" he demanded, before one‑by‑one, a sole survivor, Yousef Abu Sharia, spoke of losing every family member beneath the rubble.

It is believed that dozens more bodies may still remain under the rubble at the Sabra site, and that thousands more are unaccounted for across the Gaza Strip.

The funeral reflects the relentless toll of the war and the urgent need for humane responses to the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Gaza.