Mass Funeral Held for 75 Palestinians Recovered from Gaza Rubble

Most of the victims were from the Daraj neighbourhood in Gaza City, the Health Ministry says.

A mass funeral was held Sunday for 75 Palestinians whose remains were recently recovered from the rubble of homes and buildings destroyed since Israel launched its war on Gaza in October 2023, the Health Ministry announced.

Hundreds of mourners attended the procession before the remains were interred at the Sheikh Radwan Cemetery.

Most of the victims were from the Daraj neighbourhood in northeastern Gaza City. Al Jazeera correspondent Nour Khaled reported that the majority of the remains belonged to women and children who were inside their homes when they were struck.

The remains — consisting of body fragments and personal belongings — were wrapped in Palestinian flags prior to burial, Khaled said.

Abdullah al-Majdalawi, director of public relations and media for Gaza’s Civil Defence, told the Turkish state news agency Anadolu that the remains had been recovered over recent weeks from several destroyed homes in Daraj. He said the buildings were bombed while residents were inside during the early months of the war, and that the victims belonged to about 20 Palestinian families, including people who had been displaced to those homes.

Efforts to recover bodies from beneath the rubble continue to face severe difficulties due to a lack of equipment and heavy machinery, al-Majdalawi added.

The Civil Defence launched the second phase of its recovery operations in July. It recovered 333 bodies and the remains of 559 people during its first operation in November 2025.

The Civil Defence estimates the remains of another 8,000 Palestinians are still trapped beneath the rubble across Gaza. According to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), there are about 200,000 damaged and destroyed buildings in Gaza.

At least 74,475 Palestinians have been killed since Israel launched the war three years ago.

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