Hundreds of Palestinians in Gaza City on Saturday evening held a final farewell for the bodies and remains of around 100 victims of Israel’s war in Gaza, after they were recently recovered from beneath the rubble of homes destroyed by Israeli airstrikes.
اضافة اعلان
Near Imam al-Shafi’i Mosque in the Zeitoun neighborhood of southeastern Gaza City, the bodies and remains were laid out on the ground and covered with Palestinian flags. Relatives lit candles and scattered flowers around them, marking a long-awaited farewell for families whose loved ones had remained buried beneath the rubble for more than two years.
Among the recovered remains were the bodies of children, women, men and elderly people who had remained under the rubble for more than two years before Civil Defense teams were recently able to reach and recover them under extremely difficult conditions.
Entire families were found among the remains. Children, women and elderly relatives searched through the names for traces of their loved ones, or stared for long periods at remains that retained only enough features for identification.
The bodies and remains were recovered in recent days by Civil Defense teams as part of the second phase of the “Recovery of Martyrs’ Bodies” project, launched by the agency on July 19. The project aims to recover the remains of people missing beneath the rubble of buildings destroyed by Israel.
The recovered remains belonged to members of the Arhime, Al-Balawi, Malaka and Qanbour families, whose homes were destroyed in Israeli attacks around two years ago.
Search operations are being carried out with limited and inadequate resources. Teams have only a small number of excavators and worn-out equipment, amid the Israeli blockade and restrictions on the entry of excavation and recovery machinery.
The Sole Survivor
Among those attending was Mariam Hassan Al-Balawi, standing before the remains of her husband and four children, struggling to comprehend that her family, which had remained buried for so long, was finally before her.
“My husband and my four children were killed, and I am left with only my surviving daughter, Malak,” Mariam told Anadolu.
“My husband was killed, and my children died hungry: Mahmoud, Majd, Hala, Maya and Mohammed,” she said.
“Our whole life is gone. My husband and children were killed, and I have no life left. My daughter cries every day and wants her father,” she added, her voice reflecting grief and exhaustion.
Recalling her final days with her family, Mariam remembered her husband’s last request before his death.
“Before he was killed, he told me: ‘If I die, shroud me with your own hands and bury me with your own hands,’” she said.
She fell silent for a moment before adding: “What am I supposed to do? My home is gone, my children are gone, my life is gone. When they recovered them, I felt relief in my heart, as if my soul had left with them.”
A Child Asking About Her Father
For Mariam, however, the greatest pain is not only losing her husband and children, but seeing her daughter Malak remain the sole witness to an entire family that has disappeared.
“What did my daughter Malak do to deserve this? She is the only survivor. Every day she cries and wants her father and siblings. She asks me, ‘What did I do, Dad? Why did they bomb them? They had done nothing,’” Mariam said.
Despite her grief, Mariam said she felt some comfort after her family’s remains were recovered.
“I feel reassured now because I will bid farewell to them as martyrs. Before, I used to go every day to the place where they were buried and say, ‘God, let them come out so I can see them.’ Today, after they were recovered, I feel a little relief,” she said.
An Entire Family Under the Rubble
Near the remains of members of the Al-Balawi family, elderly man Jadallah Arhime stood inspecting the remains of 32 of his cousins and their family members who were killed in an Israeli strike on February 19, 2024.
“These martyrs are my cousins. There are 32 of them in total, including more than 15 children and around 10 women, with only a few men,” Arhime told Anadolu.
He said the family members “had done nothing wrong by remaining in their homes. They were suddenly hit by the bombing and were all killed in an instant.”
Arhime said only one person survived from the family.
“Only this girl survived,” he said, pointing to a girl standing beside him. “She was number 33, the only survivor from the house.”
The family members remained under the rubble for “around two and a half years or more” before Civil Defense teams recently began efforts to reach them.
“A week ago, Civil Defense began digging to recover the bodies. It took a long time because of the lack of equipment and the difficult conditions,” Arhime said.
He stressed that the names displayed in front of them represented people, not numbers.
“These are not numbers. Look at their names: men, women, children and elderly people, including elderly women. One of them was more than 70 years old; she was the grandmother,” he said.
“All these martyrs were unable to leave their homes because of the difficult circumstances. Even after they were killed, no one was able to reach them,” he added.
Grief Renewed
Describing his feelings as the remains were recovered, Arhime said: “By God, this is not a moment of joy; it is grief all over again. Since the recovery began, the sorrow and pain have returned, and the tears have flowed.”
He pointed to a girl who had lost most of her family.
“As you can see, this girl lost her father, mother, sisters and brothers,” he said.
“For a week, the grief has been renewed. Today, this girl walks among them, crying for her grandfather, father, mother, brother, sister and grandmother. The pain only grows,” he added.
Nevertheless, Arhime said the farewell offered a measure of dignity to his relatives after their prolonged wait beneath the rubble.
As candles continued to illuminate the area, the bodies remained laid out in the square, surrounded by flowers, Palestinian flags and the tears of their relatives.
On Sunday morning, the site is expected to become the starting point for a large funeral procession carrying the victims’ remains, whose farewell was delayed for more than two years.
The second phase of the “Recovery of Martyrs’ Bodies” project involves 800 hours of work and covers searches for missing bodies beneath the rubble of 147 destroyed homes in Gaza, North Gaza and the central governorates. Authorities believe 1,072 bodies may be buried beneath the rubble.
The first phase of the same project began in late November 2025, involving 500 hours of work. Civil Defense teams recovered around 333 bodies and sets of remains out of 559 people believed to be missing beneath the rubble of 54 homes and buildings.
Under the first phase of the ceasefire agreement in Gaza, which has been in effect since October 10, 2025, Israel was expected to allow the entry of heavy equipment and machinery needed for recovery operations. Government bodies and Palestinian factions in Gaza, however, said Israel failed to fulfill that commitment.
The agreement was reached after nearly two years of Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip, backed by the United States. The war has resulted in more than 73,000 Palestinians being killed and over 174,000 injured, while destroying an estimated 90% of civilian infrastructure. The United Nations has estimated reconstruction costs at around $70 billion.
