Hasty funerals in Gaza

Due to the poor conditions and the large number of victims each day, those killed in Israeli airstrikes in Gaza were hastily buried.

On a Friday evening in Deir el-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, Amani al-Hor, 28, gathered with her siblings and their families in her parents’ house to forget the roar of bombs flying overhead. She talked with them for a few hours, then took her four children to her own house nearby.

As Amani returned home, a missile struck his parents’ apartment. At least 40 members of Amani’s family were killed, including his parents, nearly all of his siblings, and their children. The airstrike also damaged Amani’s home.

An Israeli airstrike destroyed houses in the Maghazi refugee camp in Deir al-Balah on November 3. Photo: AFP

"I didn't hear the rockets coming down, I just saw the walls and ceiling suddenly collapse," she said. "It felt like I was in a tomb. I don't know how I got all my children out in the dark."

Amani was later shocked by the number of people who had died in her parents' home. "The house used to be so crowded with people, with noisy children, and now they were all under rubble," she said.

"In the past, funerals were held with a lot of ritual," said Mukhtar al-Hor, 57, a relative of Amani. "Dozens, hundreds of people would pray for the deceased before they were buried. Now, only a few people can pray for their loved ones."

Mass grave in Deir al-Balah on October 23. Photo: AFP

Mukhtar said at least 18 bodies were pulled from the rubble after the air strike on the Nuseirat refugee camp, some with torn remains.

"I can't describe what it feels like to bury family members in a mass grave," he said. "They don't get the rites that we do in peacetime."

Diab al-Jaru, mayor of Deir el-Balah, said the city had recorded at least 20 major Israeli attacks in the past four weeks, including attacks targeting civilians and evacuees.

Normally, after being bathed, the deceased's body would be brought home for the women in the family to say goodbye, then transferred to the mosque for the men to pray before being taken to the cemetery.

The prayer ceremony was held right on the hospital grounds with very few people attending. The body will be buried in a mass grave without a separate headstone.

"Before the war, the bodies of adults would be washed with soap and camphor and wrapped in three pieces of cloth. But in the current situation, we don't have the time or means to do that," he said. "We try to wipe the blood off the face and wrap them in only one piece of cloth because of the shortage."

Abu Ammar, a morgue worker at Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir el-Balah, on November 3. Photo: Al Jazeera

"The most lethal weapons are being used against us. This has crossed all red lines and violated all international human rights laws. The world must stop this barbaric war against us," the 45-year-old said.

The Israel-Hamas war is about to enter its second month. Despite the international community's repeated calls for a ceasefire, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that Israel "will not stop until we win", stating that its goal is to "eliminate Hamas, free the hostages and restore security".

As for Hamas, this force declared that it would not stop carrying out similar raids on October 7 until it "destroyed Israel".

Hong Hanh (According to Al Jazeera )

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