Hundreds of Palestinians gathered in Gaza on Tuesday for a mass funeral to mourn 112 victims, including 40 children, who died in one of the deadliest Israeli strikes during the 2023 Gaza conflict. The attack occurred on November 22, 2023, when Israeli warplanes destroyed a residential block in the Sabra neighborhood of Gaza City, killing over 300 people.

Immediately following the strike, roughly 40 bodies were rescued by local residents using rudimentary tools and their bare hands. However, the majority remained trapped beneath the rubble, inaccessible until recent weeks. Recovery efforts had been hindered by ongoing Israeli airstrikes, but a fragile ceasefire that took effect in October has allowed first responders to resume searching through the devastated area. Over the past weekend, Gaza’s Civil Defense, operating under the Hamas-run Interior Ministry, uncovered the remains of the additional 112 victims. Officials reported that 157 people are still missing from the attack.

The funeral took place in Deir al-Balah, where the victims’ bodies, wrapped in Palestinian flags and accompanied by photographs and flowers, were laid out for prayers. Mourners then carried the coffins through war-torn streets to a nearby cemetery. Many of those killed belonged to extended families from the Hassayna and Abu Sharia clans. The scale of familial loss is pronounced, with at least 60 families in Gaza losing 25 or more members during the early months of the conflict.

Since the militant group Hamas launched an attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which resulted in approximately 1,200 deaths and the capture of 251 hostages, Israel’s retaliatory campaign has led to significant Palestinian casualties. According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, over 73,000 Palestinians have died, including more than 1,200 since the ceasefire began. Zaher al-Waheidi, head of the Health Ministry’s records department, stated that at least 7,400 people remain reported as buried under rubble, with the actual toll likely higher due to entire families sometimes perishing in single strikes.

The current ceasefire, while easing hostilities, has not completely halted Israeli airstrikes. Over the weekend, at least 26 Palestinians were killed despite a recent agreement intended to advance the truce and facilitate a second phase involving the disarmament of Hamas and potential Israeli withdrawal. However, talks toward these goals have largely stalled, with Hamas insisting their disarmament is contingent on an Israeli withdrawal, and Israel expressing “serious security concerns” about the arrangement.

Human rights organizations, including a United Nations commission, Human Rights Watch, and Amnesty International, have accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, citing targeted killings of civilians, including children. Despite ongoing international scrutiny and diplomatic efforts, the humanitarian situation in Gaza remains dire, with the majority of the two million residents displaced and living in overcrowded, unsanitary conditions.