RismadarVoice Reporters
September 6, 2026
Families in northern Gaza have held funeral ceremonies for about 100 people whose remains were recovered from the rubble of destroyed buildings in Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighbourhood.
The recovered remains, including those of about 60 children, were transported by relatives to the al-Ma’madani cemetery in central Gaza City for burial, according to reports from the area.
Civil defence teams and family members spent weeks searching through the ruins of homes damaged during the Israel-Hamas war to recover the remains.
Among those buried were members of the Malaka family, which reportedly lost 55 relatives in the conflict.
Families said the recovery process allowed them to finally bury their loved ones in recognised cemeteries, although officials said many people remain missing beneath destroyed structures across Gaza.
Gaza civil defence chief Raed al-Dahshan said thousands of bodies are believed to remain trapped under rubble, but recovery operations have been slowed by a shortage of heavy equipment and protective gear for rescue teams.
He said his agency estimates that around 8,000 bodies could be recovered within approximately 90 days if the necessary machinery is available, but warned that the process could take years without access to the required equipment.
The civil defence service has requested heavy excavators, protective equipment and search tools from international organisations to assist with recovery efforts.
Officials involved in identifying remains said they rely on information from survivors, neighbours and engineering teams to determine who was inside buildings before they were destroyed and to document recovered materials.
Ajith Sunghay, head of the United Nations human rights office in the occupied Palestinian territories, described the recovery scenes as a reflection of the severity of the conflict and called for the preservation of evidence.
Gaza’s Health Ministry has reported that tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed and many others wounded since the conflict began in October 2023.
Recent recovery operations in Gaza have also uncovered the remains of people killed in previous strikes, including victims from several families and individuals recovered from major building sites.
