No Rest for Gaza’s Dead: Swift Burials, Bodies Dug Up

The ongoing conflict between Hamas and Israel in Gaza has led to devastating consequences, even affecting the deceased. Israeli forces have been accused of exhuming bodies, with hurried burials being conducted in various makeshift locations, including hospitals and schools.

In the Al-Tuffah district of Gaza City, an AFP photographer witnessed the aftermath of Israeli military bulldozing a burial site, leading to the exhumation of Palestinian bodies. The Ministry of Religious Affairs in Gaza has reported that over 2,000 graves across the territory have been damaged or destroyed by Israeli actions. In response, the Israeli military has stated to AFP that while it does not specifically target cemeteries, damage to such sites can occur during warfare.

The military also addressed allegations of retrieving bodies from graves, clarifying that such actions are undertaken only in locations believed to contain the remains of hostages. They assured that bodies not identified as hostages are returned respectfully.

Since the conflict’s escalation on October 7, following a Hamas attack, southern Israel has reportedly seen about 1,140 deaths. Approximately 250 hostages were taken by militants, with Israel claiming that around 132 remain in Gaza, including at least 28 deceased individuals. The continuous Israeli military campaign in Gaza has resulted in the deaths of at least 26,637 people, predominantly women and children.

In Deir al-Balah, Saida Jaber expressed her anguish upon seeing social media footage of the Jabalia refugee camp’s demolished cemetery, where many of her relatives were buried. The inability to access formal cemeteries has led Gazans to bury their dead in makeshift graveyards. In one such instance, a woman recounted burying her daughter in the yard of a school-turned-shelter, after the child died in her arms during a rocket attack.

AFP journalists have observed numerous mass graves across Gaza, including at Shifa Hospital, Gaza’s largest hospital. The graves, marked with stones and plant branches, reflect the desperate measures taken by Gazans to bury their dead amid the conflict.

Residents like Arfan Dadar, who buried his son in the grounds of Shifa Hospital, and Wael al-Dahdouh, Al Jazeera’s Gaza bureau chief, who buried his journalist son in Rafah, hope to relocate their loved ones’ graves post-war. Jaber, displaced in Deir al-Balah, yearns to return to Jabalia to check on her family’s graves, fearing they too may have been disturbed.