Gaza City, Palestine. Palestinian authorities said the remains of 112 members of the Al-Hassayna family were recovered from rubble in the Sabra neighbourhood, nearly three years after Israeli airstrikes destroyed apartment buildings and killed hundreds of members of the clan.
Recovery operation and funeral
The decomposed remains were placed on flag-covered stretchers in the heat before a funeral on Tuesday, attended by neighbours and surviving members of the family on a flattened site of demolished buildings.
Palestinian authorities described the event as the largest mass funeral of the Gaza war. Men carried the stretchers through the streets, while a sign displayed portraits of the dead, including men, women and children.
A team of 40 workers spent 17 days searching the wreckage and recovered remains identified as belonging to 112 previously missing victims.
Strike in Sabra
Palestinian authorities said 308 members of the extended Al-Hassayna family, also known as the Abu Sharia family and described as having Bedouin heritage, were killed on November 22, 2023.
They said Israeli airstrikes brought down a cluster of apartment buildings in Sabra, one of Gaza City’s older neighbourhoods, while residents were asleep. About half of those killed had previously been recovered and buried, while 153 bodies had remained beneath the rubble until the latest recovery operation.
“This day is mixed with grief, and it has reopened our wounds three years after this massacre,” surviving family member Taysir Al-Hassayna said.
“It has brought sorrow back to our children and women. But our consolation is that we believe they are martyrs with God.”
Israeli response and casualty figures
Reuters said it was unable to locate an Israeli military statement from November 2023 giving Israel’s account of the strike. The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The war began after Hamas-led fighters entered Israel from Gaza and killed 1,200 Israelis. Palestinian health authorities said more than 73,000 Palestinians have been confirmed killed in Israel’s war in Gaza, with most deaths documented after bodies were taken to morgues and buried.
They said about 8,000 additional people are believed to remain beneath the rubble.
