Gaza holds funeral for 112 Palestinians from 2023 airstrike

A mass funeral for 112 Palestinians killed in a 2023 Israeli airstrike was held in Gaza City on Tuesday, August 4, 2026. The remains were of members of the Abu Sharia and al-Hasayna families, recovered after rescue teams worked for 17 days in July to excavate the site of the November 22, 2023 attack in the Sabra neighborhood. The funeral, described by the Palestinian Civil Defence as one of the largest held in Gaza during the war, saw thousands of mourners gather to bury the victims, whose bodies had been trapped under rubble for nearly three years.

Rows of coffins and remains draped in Palestinian flags were carried through the city. Rescue officials stated the recovery operation was extremely difficult, with crews often digging through concrete and twisted steel with their bare hands due to severe shortages of heavy equipment. In some cases, they found only skeletons held together by clothing. The operation was aided by two excavators rented from the private sector by the International Committee of the Red Cross, as Israel has restricted the entry of construction machinery into the territory.

The original airstrike was one of the deadliest single events of the conflict,...