Israeli Forces Damage Gaza War Cemetery in 2025

Israeli forces damaged a historic Allied war cemetery in Gaza City during military operations in the spring of 2025, disturbing the graves of more than 100 soldiers from Britain, Australia and other Commonwealth nations who died in the First and Second World Wars. Satellite imagery and witness accounts confirm that heavy machinery was used to bulldoze sections of the Gaza War Cemetery in the al-Tuffah neighborhood, removing rows of gravestones and creating earth barriers amid ongoing conflict in the area.

The cemetery, established in 1920 and managed by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, holds 3,217 burials from the First World War and 210 from the Second World War. Most graves belong to British soldiers, with significant numbers of Australians, Canadians and others from Commonwealth forces. The site has long been maintained by local Palestinian families, including the Jaradah family, who tended it for over a century despite regional instability. Essam Jaradah, the former caretaker, described two separate bulldozing incidents in April and May 2025: one outside the cemetery walls that leveled an olive grove, and another inside that targeted an area containing Australian...