Gaza prepares for largest mass funeral since start of war

Photos from the funeral of 112 martyrs in Gaza City, whose bodies were recovered from beneath the rubble of their homes. They belonged to a single family killed by the Israeli occupation in one of the most horrific massacres carried out at the beginning of the war. [Mohammed Asad/Middle East Monitor]

Photos from the funeral of 112 martyrs in Gaza City, whose bodies were recovered from beneath the rubble of their homes. They belonged to a single family killed by the Israeli occupation in one of the most horrific massacres carried out at the beginning of the war. [Mohammed Asad/Middle East Monitor]

Photos from the funeral of 112 martyrs in Gaza City, whose bodies were recovered from beneath the rubble of their homes. They belonged to a single family killed by the Israeli occupation in one of the most horrific massacres carried out at the beginning of the war. [Mohammed Asad/Middle East Monitor]

Photos from the funeral of 112 martyrs in Gaza City, whose bodies were recovered from beneath the rubble of their homes. They belonged to a single family killed by the Israeli occupation in one of the most horrific massacres carried out at the beginning of the war. [Mohammed Asad/Middle East Monitor]

Photos from the funeral of 112 martyrs in Gaza City, whose bodies were recovered from beneath the rubble of their homes. They belonged to a single family killed by the Israeli occupation in one of the most horrific massacres carried out at the beginning of the war. [Mohammed Asad/Middle East Monitor]

Gaza City is preparing on Tuesday for the mass funeral of 112 Palestinians from the Abu Sharia and Al-Hasayna families, in what Palestinian sources describe as one of the largest funerals held in the Gaza Strip since the war began.

According to the announced information, the bodies were recovered from a single site. The combined death toll and number of people still missing from the two families at that location stands at 308, making it one of the deadliest incidents resulting from Israeli bombardment of the territory.

The funeral is expected to draw large crowds of relatives and local residents amid deep grief across the Gaza Strip, as search efforts continue to recover missing people and bodies from beneath the rubble in heavily destroyed areas.

The funeral comes months after rescue teams were unable to reach the site because of intense military operations and widespread destruction. Civil defence and rescue crews were only recently able to recover some of the bodies for burial.

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Civil defence teams and other specialised crews in Gaza continue to recover bodies from the rubble of destroyed buildings despite limited resources and shortages of equipment and fuel. Local authorities say thousands of people remain missing beneath the debris across the territory.

The ongoing war has caused widespread destruction to residential neighbourhoods and infrastructure. Rescue teams continue to face major challenges in reaching many locations because of the scale of the devastation and ongoing security risks, delaying the recovery of many victims’ bodies for months.

UN agencies and humanitarian organisations have warned of a worsening humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip as military operations continue, large numbers of people remain displaced, and health and living conditions deteriorate. They have called for improved access for rescue teams and humanitarian aid, enabling search operations to continue and victims to be buried in accordance with humanitarian procedures.

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