Gaza City witnessed its largest mass funeral since the war began, as families buried 112 people killed in an Israeli strike on the Sabra neighbourhood on November 22, 2023. The victims, mostly women and children from the Abu Sharia and Hassayna clans, were recovered after a two-week excavation operation supported by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
Recovery After a Year Under Rubble
Their remains had been trapped beneath a collapsed residential block for over a year. Gaza's Civil Defence, with logistical support from the ICRC, conducted the excavation. Footage from the funeral showed bodies arranged in rows, each draped in a Palestinian flag, with photographs of some of the dead placed alongside them.
Among the 112 dead were 40 children, 38 women, and seven people with disabilities. The strike occurred six weeks after the Hamas-led assault on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, which killed around 1,200 people and led to 251 being taken hostage.
Survivors' Grief and Questions
Yousef Abu Sharia, a survivor, said: "I'm the sole survivor of my family. Today, I'm talking to you [as] the one who lost my mother, my father, my uncle and my cousins and all my family. I lost them under this rubble."
Another mourner, Ali Abu Sharia, described mixed emotions: "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."
Red Cross Support and Ongoing Search
Civil Defence spokesman Mohammed Basel said the multi-storey building was completely flattened, with roughly 90 per cent of the estimated 180 or more civilians inside killed. Rescue teams could not reach the site immediately due to ongoing danger and the need for coordination with Israel through a third party.
The ICRC provided equipment, training, and excavation support. ICRC spokesperson Patrick Griffiths said: "It's not an answer any family wants to receive — confirmation that your loved one has been killed. But it's essential towards them receiving closure and being able to mourn their loss in their own way."
Nahed al-Hassayna, standing in the rubble of his family's living room, held up a school backpack and a child's shoe, asking: "The kids — what did they do? This was a school backpack for Omar, and this was Ibrahim's shoe. Why? Why were they killed?"
Broader Impact and Unaccounted Victims
Civil Defence officials believe dozens more bodies remain buried at the Sabra site. Across Gaza, thousands are still unaccounted for, many thought to be beneath rubble from Israeli air strikes. Since the war began, at least 73,377 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, whose figures the United Nations considers reliable.
The Israeli military has not responded to the BBC's request for comment on what was targeted in the Sabra strike. The funeral marks a sombre milestone in a conflict that has displaced most of Gaza's population and left vast areas in ruins.
