Gaza holds mass funeral for 112 recovered from 2023 strike — SkimNews
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- Gaza City held a mass funeral for 112 people recovered from under the rubble of a residential block struck by Israel on 22 November 2023 — described as the biggest funeral of its kind in the territory, with remains lined up under Palestinian flags.
- The victims included 44 children, 38 women, and seven people with disabilities from the Abu Sharia and Hassayna families, a single clan; Civil Defence said the multi-storey building held more than 180 civilians, roughly 90% of whom were killed.
- Civil Defence crews, operating under the Hamas-run interior ministry and supported by the International Committee of the Red Cross with gloves, body bags, protective equipment, training, and rented excavators, spent two weeks recovering the remains.
- The BBC asked the Israel Defense Forces what was targeted in the strike and has received no response; the strike occurred six weeks after the 7 October 2023 Hamas-led assault that killed 1,200 people in southern Israel and saw 251 taken hostage.
- Since the war began, at least 73,377 people have been killed in Gaza according to the Hamas-run health ministry — figures considered reliable by the UN — while dozens more bodies remain unrecovered at the Sabra site and thousands across the territory are unaccounted for.
- Relatives guided recovery crews through the rubble during the operation; sole surviving family member Yousef Abu Sharia said he lost his mother, father, uncle, cousins and entire family, while Nahed al-Hassayna held up a child's school backpack and shoe, asking: "Why were they killed?"
Why it matters: The funeral exposes a staggering two-year gap between death and burial in Gaza, where 112 bodies lay under rubble since November 2023 and thousands more remain unaccounted for across the territory. The IDF's non-response to BBC questions about what was targeted underscores the absence of accountability in a war the UN says has killed at least 73,377 people.
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