Mass Funeral Held for 105 Palestinians Recovered from Gaza Rubble After Nearly Three Years
By Staff, Agencies
A mass funeral has been held in Gaza City for 105 Palestinians, including 37 children and 38 women, whose remains were recovered from beneath the ruins of residential buildings nearly three years after they were martyred in “Israeli” airstrikes.
The bodies were recovered during a 17-day search operation carried out by Palestinian Civil Defense crews with support from Egyptian and International Committee of the Red Cross [ICRC] teams. The remains were found beneath the ruins of 16 residential buildings in the Al-Taj area of Gaza City’s Yarmouk neighborhood.
The buildings, which contained 138 apartments, were destroyed by “Israeli” warplanes on October 25, 2023, according to Palestinian authorities. Hundreds of mourners gathered to pray over the Palestinian flag-draped remains before they were buried in Gaza City’s Sheikh Radwan neighborhood.
The funeral came a day after relatives held a candlelit vigil at the site where their loved ones were martyred.
Taghreed Al-Hanawi said her daughter, physician Alia Ramzi Al-Hanawi, was martyred along with her husband and four children. She said the family had been completely erased from the civil registry and described the recovery of their remains as a painful but long-awaited moment that allowed them to be buried with dignity.
Survivors and relatives gave varying estimates of the number martyred in the original attack, with some saying the death toll may have reached several hundred. Civil Defense spokesperson Mahmoud Basal stressed that those martyred were civilians and called for greater protection for Gaza’s population.
Relatives from around 20 families also appealed for heavy machinery to be allowed into the area to recover additional bodies believed to remain beneath the rubble. Civil Defense officials said they have recovered more than 630 bodies and human remains from destroyed buildings since November 2025, while Palestinian authorities estimate that more than 8,000 people remain buried under the rubble across Gaza.
Meanwhile, Palestinian health officials continue to report casualties from ongoing “Israeli” attacks across the Strip. Gaza’s Health Ministry says 1,431 Palestinians have been martyred and 5,026 wounded since what Palestinian authorities describe as violations of the ceasefire reached in October 2025.
The ministry says more than 74,000 Palestinians have been martyred and over 175,000 wounded in Gaza since October 2023, while approximately 90 percent of the territory’s infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed.
On Thursday, a drone strike reportedly hit a tent sheltering displaced Palestinians in the Al-Iqlimi area of Al-Mawasi, west of Khan Younis, martyring 42-year-old Tamer Al-Hamayda and wounding three others. “Israeli” military vehicles also opened fire toward tents housing displaced Palestinians in Al-Mawasi, in southern Rafah.
On Wednesday, Palestinian officials said “Israeli” strikes across Gaza martyred at least eight people and wounded 24 others. Among those martyred was Palestinian journalist Mohammad Abdel Aziz Al-Najjar, an imam and presenter for Holy Quran Radio, who was reportedly struck by a drone while preparing a report on Qur’an memorization in the al-Mawasi area.
According to Gaza’s Government Media Office, Al-Najjar was the 263rd journalist martyred by “Israel” since October 2023.
Other reported attacks included a drone strike near al-Matahin Junction north of Khan Younis, an airstrike on a vehicle in Tel Al-Hawa southwest of Gaza City, and an attack on a residential unit near Al-Shifa Hospital.
On Friday, Palestinian sources reported that “Israeli” forces continued operations in Gaza, including a drone strike that injured several Palestinians in Al-Mawasi and heavy gunfire directed toward tents sheltering displaced people in the Rafah area.
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