Thousands attended the largest mass funeral in Gaza since the 2023 war, as 112 members of the Abu Shreia and al-Hassaina families were buried after their remains were recovered nearly three years following a 22 November 2023 air strike. Relatives described renewed grief after a long, agonising wait for news and the arduous recovery process. Palestinian Civil Defence said teams recovered 112 of about 153 people believed missing at the compound and warned that an estimated 8,000 bodies still lie beneath rubble across Gaza, with many unlikely to be found or identified.
“I Wanted to Hug the Bag”: Gaza Families Bury 112 Loved Ones After Nearly Three Years Under Rubble
Lara Abu Shreia lost 14 relatives in the Israeli attack, including her mother, eight siblings and their children[Abdelhakim Abu Raish/Al Jazeera]
Thousands gathered in Sabra, a neighbourhood in Gaza City, for the largest mass funeral in Gaza since the 2023 war as 112 recovered remains of members of the Abu Shreia and al-Hassaina families were buried nearly three years after an air strike on 22 November 2023.
Funeral and Family Grief
When white body bags were carried into the funeral area, relatives wept and mourners scattered flowers from balconies as the procession moved through the neighbourhood. For many, the ceremony reopened a wound that has not healed.
Mourners attend the funeral of the Abu Shreia and al-Hassaina families [Abdelhakim Abu Raish/Al Jazeera]
“Today felt like the first day I lost them,” said 39-year-old Lara Abu Shreia, who lost 14 close relatives in the strike. “I wanted to hug the bag. I wanted to hug whatever remained of them.”
A Long Wait for Answers
At the time of the attack on 22 November 2023, Lara and her immediate family had been displaced to southern Gaza following evacuation orders. Other relatives stayed behind in the family compound in Sabra. For months she lived with anxiety, clinging to brief phone calls and hoping for news. When communications failed, the family eventually learned the building had been hit and people were trapped beneath the rubble.
Recovery Operations
Weeks before the burial, Palestinian Civil Defence teams conducted long, complex recovery operations at the destroyed homes in Sabra. They recovered 112 bodies from the site out of about 153 people believed missing from the compound.
Mahmoud Basal, spokesperson for Gaza's Civil Defence [Abdelhakim Abu Raish/ Al Jazeera]
Mahmoud Basal, a spokesperson for Gaza's Civil Defence, said the task remains enormous: an estimated more than 8,000 bodies are believed to lie under rubble across Gaza. He described the single ceremony as unprecedented and warned that many victims may never be found or identified.
“Some bodies have disappeared. Some have evaporated. Some have been scattered into very small pieces, making identification extremely difficult,” Basal said, urging greater access to equipment and support for recovery teams.
Human Cost
Survivors described how the attack on the family compound unfolded in a short period, leaving entire households erased from civil records. Relatives called the victims ordinary community members — business owners, traders and families — and said the scale of loss has been catastrophic.
Ali Abu Shreia lost his two brothers and their entire families in the November 2023 strike [Abdelhakim Abu Raish/ Al Jazeera]
The burial provided a painful end to years of waiting for many families, but it did not bring closure. For those who attended, the ceremony was part mourning and part testimony: a public reckoning with loss and a call for more resources to recover and identify the missing.
Details: 112 bodies recovered and buried; strike occurred on 22 November 2023; 14 relatives lost by Lara Abu Shreia; Civil Defence estimates more than 8,000 bodies remain under rubble across Gaza.
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