Gaza holds mass funeral for seventy-five victims recovered from ruins

GAZA CITY — Hundreds of Palestinians gathered on Sunday morning for a mass funeral at the Sheikh Radwan Cemetery to bury 75 victims whose remains were recovered from the ruins of destroyed homes and buildings.

According to the Health Ministry, the majority of the victims were from the Daraj neighbourhood in the northeastern part of Gaza City. Al Jazeera correspondent Nour Khaled reported that most of the remains belonged to women and children who were inside their homes when targeted. The remains, consisting of body parts and personal belongings, were wrapped in Palestinian flags before the burial.

Abdullah al-Majdalawi, director of public relations and media for Gaza’s Civil Defence, stated that the remains were recovered over recent weeks from several destroyed homes in Daraj that had been bombed during the early months of the war. He added that the victims belonged to about 20 Palestinian families, which included individuals who had been displaced to those houses.

The mass burial highlights the ongoing humanitarian toll and recovery challenges in the enclave, where at least 74,475 Palestinians have been killed since Israel launched the war in October 2023. According to UNRWA figures, approximately 200,000 buildings across Gaza have been damaged or destroyed during the conflict.

Civil Defence officials stated that recovery operations continue to face severe difficulties due to a lack of equipment and heavy machinery. The agency believes that the remains of another 8,000 Palestinians are still trapped beneath the rubble across Gaza.

The Civil Defence launched the second phase of its recovery operations in July, following an earlier operation in November 2025 that recovered 333 bodies and the remains of 559 people. Recovery efforts continue.