Large crowds gathered in Gaza City on Tuesday, August 4th, 2026, for a mass funeral honoring 112 Palestinians, mostly women and children, who were killed in an Israeli strike on a residential block in late 2023 during the early stages of the Gaza war. The deceased belonged to the Abu Sharia and Hassayna families, who form one clan. Among the dead were 40 children, 38 women, and seven people with disabilities.

The bodies were only recently recovered after a two-week-long operation involving the use of limited excavators and support equipment. Dramatic footage showed the remains lined up in rows, each covered with a Palestinian flag and some accompanied by photos, before relatives carried them away.

One mourner, Ali Abu Sharia, described the event as "a feeling of pain, grief and loss," adding, "After we managed to retrieve them and bury them, perhaps we can be partially relieved despite the pain of loss and all we're still living through."

The funeral is said to be the biggest of its kind to have taken place in Gaza.

This event occurred six weeks after the 7 October 2023 Hamas-led assault on southern Israel, which resulted in 1,200 deaths and 251 hostages taken. Since the start of the war, at least 73,377 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, whose figures are regarded as reliable by the UN. Civil Defence spokesman Mohammed Basel noted that around 90% of those killed were civilians.

Support for the recovery teams included provision of gloves, shovels, protective equipment, body bags, training, and renting excavators to ensure the deceased were treated with dignity during the retrieval process.

Sources