Thousands of Palestinians gathered in Gaza City’s Zeitoun neighbourhood on Sunday for a funeral procession for 100 people whose remains were recovered from beneath the rubble of homes destroyed during Israeli attacks.
The recovered bodies were placed near the ruins of the residential buildings where the victims were killed, with the remains wrapped in Palestinian flags as relatives and other mourners gathered to pay their respects.
The mass funeral followed the recovery of the bodies from collapsed structures in the neighbourhood, bringing renewed attention to the large number of people who remain buried beneath buildings destroyed during the conflict.
Relatives of the victims joined thousands of other Palestinians at the procession, where the remains were displayed near the sites of the destroyed homes before being taken for burial.
Victims recovered from destroyed homes
According to local authorities, the 100 Palestinians belonged to the Rahim, Balawi, Malaka, Qanbour and Salmi families.
The families were reportedly killed when Israeli forces struck several residential homes in the area around two and a half years ago. Their remains remained beneath the destroyed structures until recovery operations brought the bodies to the surface.
The passage of time before the remains were recovered reflects the scale of destruction caused by the attacks on residential areas, with collapsed buildings leaving victims trapped beneath the rubble.
For relatives, Sunday’s procession provided an opportunity to formally mourn family members whose remains had only recently been recovered.
The bodies were laid out close to the ruins of the homes, allowing mourners to gather at the location where the victims had lived before the attacks.
The funeral also highlighted the continuing recovery of human remains from destroyed buildings across Gaza.
More bodies recovered in recent operations
The recovery of the 100 bodies in Zeitoun is part of a series of mass recovery operations reported in recent weeks.
Officials and activists said more than 100 bodies were recovered from the remains of the Abu Shariah and Hassaniya families, who were killed in a single strike.
More than 500 bodies were also reportedly recovered from the site of al-Taj Tower, according to the same accounts.
The recovery operations have continued to reveal the human toll left behind at locations where residential buildings and other structures were destroyed.
In many cases, the remains of people killed during attacks could not be immediately recovered because of the condition of the buildings and the extent of the rubble.
The latest funeral in Zeitoun therefore represents not only the burial of 100 recovered victims but also another stage in the process of identifying and recovering Palestinians killed during the conflict.
Gaza death toll continues to rise
The latest mass funeral comes against the backdrop of a wider death toll that has continued to accumulate since the conflict began in October 2023.
Gaza’s Health Ministry says at least 73,651 Palestinians have been killed since the start of the conflict, while 174,592 others have been injured.
The figures reported by the ministry cover deaths and injuries recorded across Gaza since October 2023.
The recovery of bodies from beneath destroyed homes adds another dimension to the recorded toll, as recovery teams continue to locate remains that had remained inaccessible under collapsed buildings.
For the families who attended Sunday’s funeral, the recovery of the remains brought both grief and a measure of closure after years of uncertainty.
The procession in Zeitoun drew thousands of mourners, including relatives of the victims, as the community gathered around the remains of those killed in the earlier attacks.
The bodies were wrapped in Palestinian flags and placed near the ruins of the homes, creating a solemn scene as families prepared to bury their loved ones.
The latest recovery operation also underscores the continuing challenge of locating victims beneath Gaza’s extensive rubble.
With hundreds of additional bodies reportedly recovered from other sites in recent weeks, mass funerals have become a recurring feature of the aftermath of the destruction.
Sunday’s ceremony in Zeitoun was therefore both a funeral for 100 members of several Palestinian families and another reminder of the human cost recorded by Gaza health authorities since October 2023.
Gaza Holds Funeral for 100 Palestinians Recovered From Rubble in Zeitoun
![Mass funeral for Palestinians recovered from beneath the rubble in Gaza [Dawoud Abu Alkas/Reuters]](https://i0.wp.com/wifeynews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/1788698213213.jpg?fit=720%2C480&ssl=1)
Mass funeral for Palestinians recovered from beneath the rubble in Gaza [Dawoud Abu Alkas/Reuters]
