Nearly three years after an Israeli airstrike destroyed a residential building in Gaza City, the remains of 112 Palestinians recovered from the site were laid to rest in a mass funeral, underscoring the lasting human toll of the war and the challenges of recovering victims years after attacks.
Gaza’s Civil Defense said recovery teams began excavating the rubble last month using heavy equipment to search for those still buried beneath the collapsed building. The remains of 112 victims were recovered and buried during a funeral attended by grieving relatives, neighbors and local residents. Officials said dozens of additional victims are still believed to be trapped beneath the debris and have not yet been found.
Civil Defense officials said recovery efforts had been delayed for years because of continued fighting, restricted access to some areas, and severe shortages of heavy machinery, fuel and other equipment needed to clear the rubble safely. The agency has repeatedly warned that many bodies remain buried beneath destroyed homes and buildings across Gaza, with recovery operations continuing whenever conditions allow.
The building was struck during the war that followed Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel, in which about 1,200 people were killed and around 250 others were taken hostage, according to Israeli authorities. Israel responded with a large-scale military campaign in Gaza aimed at dismantling Hamas. The offensive has devastated much of the territory, displaced most of Gaza’s population and left entire neighborhoods in ruins.
The Israeli military has said throughout the conflict that it targets Hamas militants and military infrastructure while accusing the group of operating from densely populated civilian areas. Hamas denies the allegation. It was not immediately clear whether the military had commented specifically on the strike that destroyed the residential building.
According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed since the war began. The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its casualty figures. The United Nations and many humanitarian organizations regularly cite the ministry’s figures while noting the challenges of independently verifying casualty data during the conflict.
The United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross have repeatedly warned that widespread destruction, coupled with shortages of fuel, medical supplies and heavy equipment, has severely hampered rescue and recovery efforts while deepening Gaza’s humanitarian crisis.
For families attending the mass funeral, the recovery and burial of their loved ones brought a measure of closure after years of uncertainty. However, with dozens of victims still believed to be buried beneath the rubble, search operations are expected to continue as conditions permit, highlighting the enduring human cost of the war.
