A mass funeral was held Sunday in Gaza City to bury the remains of approximately 100 Palestinians, including around 60 children, who were recovered from rubble in recent weeks. The burial took place amid somber scenes, with hundreds attending the ceremony where body bags draped in Palestinian flags were laid out.
The remains were uncovered through ongoing excavations conducted by civil defense personnel, the Red Crescent, and family members. Gaza’s Health Ministry reported that most of the deceased had already been confirmed dead by their families, indicating that the new burials are unlikely to significantly alter the current death toll in Gaza, which stands at 73,658 since the beginning of the conflict.
Fifty-five individuals interred in this funeral were reportedly members of the Malka family, who perished when their home in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City was bombed in November 2023. Gaza rescue officials confirmed that all 55 were found in a single building.
Dr. Muneer al-Bursh, director of Gaza’s Health Ministry, said the burials marked the closing of a prolonged and painful chapter for many families. He emphasized that the deceased had been denied the basic rights of being located, identified, and buried with dignity. Al-Bursh highlighted the extent of devastation, noting that some bodies had been torn apart or burned, with many reduced to skeletal remains.
His office estimates that over 8,000 individuals remain missing under the rubble, stressing an urgent need for forensic resources, including DNA testing, to identify these victims. The Health Ministry follows a strict verification process before including deaths in its official toll, requiring legal review and cross-checking to confirm that fatalities resulted from Israeli strikes or military action.
A Health Ministry source confirmed that the vast majority of the newly recovered remains had previously been reported as deceased and accounted for in official statistics, although identification of skeletal fragments remains challenging without specialized forensic support. The source explained that victims’ status changes from missing to recovered once identification is confirmed.
Recent weeks have seen videos circulating on social media showing families attempting to retrieve human remains from debris. However, many remain unreachable due to the lack of heavy machinery within Gaza or because they lie in areas under Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) control beyond the so-called Yellow Line. For example, 12 members of the Arafat family, killed in a bombing in July 2025, are still buried beneath rubble that rescue teams have been unable to clear without bulldozers.
Concerns have grown regarding IDF activities beyond this line, where allegations suggest that buildings containing numerous bodies have been demolished, potentially complicating the recovery of remains. Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territories, warned that Israeli clearance of rubble in Gaza could destroy crucial evidence of possible atrocity crimes and impede the recovery of human remains.
According to the United Nations, Israel’s military campaign against Gaza, triggered by the Hamas attack on Israel in October 2023, has produced around 61 million tons of debris that may take up to seven years to clear. Albanese underscored that rubble in Gaza is not merely waste but constitutes part of a crime scene and a graveyard, reflecting the destructive impact of the two-year bombing campaign.
She also stated that Israeli companies were reportedly involved in the rubble clearance, although her office did not provide further details. Israel’s Foreign Ministry, Prime Minister’s Office, and military had not responded to requests for comment. In the past, Albanese has been a vocal critic of Israel’s military operations in Gaza, which Israeli officials have strongly contested.