GAZA CITY — Thousands of Palestinians gathered in Gaza City on Sunday for the funeral of 100 people whose bodies and remains were recovered from beneath the rubble of destroyed homes in the Zeitoun neighborhood.Relatives of the victims joined community and political figures at the procession, where the recovered remains were laid out near the ruins of the homes and draped in Palestinian flags.The ceremony included memorial addresses by Gaza’s Civil Defense, whose teams carried out the recovery operations, as well as representatives of the victims’ families and community figures.The remains were expected to be buried at Al-Ahli cemetery in Zeitoun following funeral prayers.Civil Defense teams recovered the victims in recent days during the second phase of a project launched on July 19 to retrieve Palestinians still buried beneath buildings destroyed during the war.Local authorities said the victims belonged to the Rahim, Balawi, Malaka, Qanbour and Salmi families and were killed when Israeli forces struck several residential homes around two and a half years ago.Recovery operations have been hampered by limited resources, with Civil Defense teams relying on a small number of excavators and deteriorating equipment amid restrictions on the entry of heavy machinery needed to search through the rubble.Sunday’s ceremony was among the largest mass funerals held in Gaza in terms of the number of bodies and remains being buried, according to an Anadolu tally. A similar funeral was held in early August for 112 Palestinians recovered from destroyed homes in Gaza City’s Sabra neighborhood.The second phase of the recovery project involves 800 hours of work at 147 destroyed homes across Gaza City and northern and central Gaza, where an estimated 1,072 bodies remain buried.The first phase began in November 2025 and involved 500 hours of work. Civil Defense teams recovered around 333 bodies and remains from an estimated 559 people missing beneath the rubble of 54 homes and buildings.Under the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement, which took effect on Oct. 10, 2025, Israel was expected to allow heavy machinery and equipment needed for recovery operations into the enclave, according to Palestinian authorities.The ceasefire followed nearly two years of Israeli attacks on Gaza that, according to Palestinian figures, killed more than 73,000 people and injured more than 174,000, while destroying or damaging much of the enclave’s civilian infrastructure.GAZA CITY — Thousands of Palestinians gathered in Gaza City on Sunday for the funeral of 100 people whose bodies and remains were recovered from beneath the rubble of destroyed homes in the Zeitoun neighborhood.Relatives of the victims joined community and political figures at the procession, where the recovered remains were laid out near the ruins of the homes and draped in Palestinian flags.The ceremony included memorial addresses by Gaza’s Civil Defense, whose teams carried out the recovery operations, as well as representatives of the victims’ families and community figures.The remains were expected to be buried at Al-Ahli cemetery in Zeitoun following funeral prayers.Civil Defense teams recovered the victims in recent days during the second phase of a project launched on July 19 to retrieve Palestinians still buried beneath buildings destroyed during the war.Local authorities said the victims belonged to the Rahim, Balawi, Malaka, Qanbour and Salmi families and were killed when Israeli forces struck several residential homes around two and a half years ago.Recovery operations have been hampered by limited resources, with Civil Defense teams relying on a small number of excavators and deteriorating equipment amid restrictions on the entry of heavy machinery needed to search through the rubble.Sunday’s ceremony was among the largest mass funerals held in Gaza in terms of the number of bodies and remains being buried, according to an Anadolu tally. A similar funeral was held in early August for 112 Palestinians recovered from destroyed homes in Gaza City’s Sabra neighborhood.The second phase of the recovery project involves 800 hours of work at 147 destroyed homes across Gaza City and northern and central Gaza, where an estimated 1,072 bodies remain buried.The first phase began in November 2025 and involved 500 hours of work. Civil Defense teams recovered around 333 bodies and remains from an estimated 559 people missing beneath the rubble of 54 homes and buildings.Under the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement, which took effect on Oct. 10, 2025, Israel was expected to allow heavy machinery and equipment needed for recovery operations into the enclave, according to Palestinian authorities.The ceasefire followed nearly two years of Israeli attacks on Gaza that, according to Palestinian figures, killed more than 73,000 people and injured more than 174,000, while destroying or damaging much of the enclave’s civilian infrastructure.
Palestinians hold mass funeral for 100 bodies recovered from Gaza rubble
