Mass Funeral Held for 112 Palestinians Recovered Nearly Three Years After 2023 Gaza Strike

Hundreds of Palestinians gathered in central Gaza on Tuesday to bury 112 bodies recovered from the rubble of one of the deadliest Israeli air strikes of the war, nearly three years after the attack destroyed a residential area in Gaza City's Sabra neighbourhood.

The victims were among more than 300 people killed on November 22, 2023, when Israeli warplanes flattened a cluster of apartment buildings belonging to the Al Hassayna and Abu Sharia families. Palestinian officials say 308 people died in the strike, making it one of the worst single attacks of the war.

Only about 40 bodies were recovered in the days after the bombing as rescuers, using basic tools and their bare hands, struggled to reach people trapped under the rubble. A recent 17 day recovery operation by Gaza Civil Defence teams uncovered the remains of 112 victims, including 40 children, after the October ceasefire allowed access to the area. Officials said 157 bodies are still missing beneath the debris.

The bodies, wrapped in Palestinian flags and marked with photographs, were placed in rows for funeral prayers before being carried through streets lined with destroyed buildings to a nearby cemetery.

A relative, Taysir al Hassayna, said the victims' only "crime" was staying in their homes, believing they would be safe. Another survivor, Omar al Hassayna, who lost his wife, sons and grandchildren, described the funeral as reopening old wounds.

According to Gaza's Health Ministry, the war has killed more than 73,377 Palestinians. Officials estimate at least 7,400 people remain buried under collapsed buildings, while the real number could be much higher because entire families were wiped out with no survivors left to report the missing.