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Funeral prayers held in Gaza years later for 100 Palestinians
The bodies of 100 Palestinians recovered from the rubble of destroyed buildings in Gaza’s Zeitoun neighborhood were buried after a ceremony held years later. At least 60 of the bodies were children, while more remains are believed to be buried under the rubble.
A funeral ceremony was held in Gaza City’s southern Zeitoun neighborhood for the bodies of 100 Palestinians recovered several days ago from the rubble of destroyed buildings. The bodies, recovered two and a half years after the attack, included at least 60 children.
The bodies were placed side by side in an area among the ruins where the attack took place. Wrapped in Palestinian flags, they were covered with flowers. Relatives, community leaders and political and social figures attended the ceremony, where funeral prayers were held before the bodies were buried at the Ahli Baptist Cemetery in the Zeitoun neighborhood.
Relatives reached their loved ones’ remains years later
Officials from the Civil Defense Directorate who recovered the bodies, along with relatives of those who died and prominent figures from the area, delivered commemorative speeches at the ceremony.
Mahmoud Murtaja, who lost his nine-months-pregnant wife and three-year-old daughter in the attack, said they had been awaiting the birth of their new baby before losing his family. Murtaja said the remains of his wife, daughter and unborn baby had remained under the rubble for nearly three years.
Murtaja said that reaching the remains had brought the pain back. He said he had lost the baby whose birth he had been awaiting without ever being able to hold the child. Saying that he felt as though his wife and children had died only the previous day, Murtaja said he could not embrace them or say goodbye even though their remains were in front of him.
More bodies are believed to remain under the rubble
Mustafa Kazat, a member of the Gaza City Municipal Council, said the recovered bodies included children, women and elderly people. Kazat said similar situations may exist in other neighborhoods because the necessary resources had not been provided.
Mahmud Basal, spokesman for the Civil Defense Directorate, said efforts to reach the bodies beneath the rubble were continuing with difficulty because of the scale of the destruction and the shortage of heavy machinery. Basal said most of those buried in the ceremony were children and that the remains of approximately 60 children had been recovered.
Describing the lack of equipment as the biggest obstacle to search-and-rescue operations, Basal said the second phase of a project to reach bodies in the rubble of homes destroyed in Israeli attacks would involve 800 hours of work.
During this phase, work will be carried out in the rubble of 147 homes in Gaza City as well as in the northern and central parts of the Gaza Strip. More than 1,000 bodies are believed to remain beneath the rubble.
Approximately 333 bodies recovered in the first phase
The first phase of the project began in late November 2025. As part of the operation, the bodies and remains of approximately 333 of the 559 people missing beneath the rubble of 54 homes and buildings were recovered.
In a statement issued in October 2025, Gaza’s Government Media Office said approximately 9,500 Palestinians had been missing since Israel launched its attacks in October 2023. The missing included people whose bodies were still buried under the rubble.
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