Daijiworld Media Network - Gaza

Gaza, Jan 29: Heart-wrenching scenes unfolded at al-Batsh cemetery in Gaza City’s Tuffah neighbourhood after the Israeli military reportedly excavated and damaged large sections of the burial ground while recovering the body of an Israeli captive, leaving grieving families shattered and uncertain about the fate of their loved ones’ remains.

Fatima Abdullah, a mother of three, said she could not forget the horrifying visuals from the cemetery, where her husband Mohammad al-Shaarawi — killed in an Israeli drone strike on December 11, 2024 — was laid to rest among thousands of other graves.

“We were all on edge… everyone was scared it would be their loved one’s grave next,” she said, recalling the fear of seeing heavy machinery approach the resting place of her husband.

Describing the aftermath as deeply disturbing, Fatima said graves were bulldozed and remains were treated without dignity. “Even the dead were not spared,” she said, adding that bones and burial bags were scattered as the landscape of the cemetery was drastically altered.

Reports said around 250 graves were examined in a short period during the search operation, with old and recent graves exhumed and many tombstones destroyed.

Fatima said she had regularly visited her husband’s grave with her children, who would feel they were “visiting their father” rather than going to a place of sorrow. However, following mass evacuations from Shujayea amid heavy attacks, she could no longer reach the cemetery, which remains close to a restricted military zone.

“No one knows what they took, what remains were returned… if anything at all,” she said, expressing hope that further ceasefire measures may allow her to visit and check on the grave.

Human rights organisations have repeatedly condemned the destruction of cemeteries in Gaza, calling it a violation of international humanitarian law. Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor has documented extensive damage to burial grounds, reporting that dozens of cemeteries have been destroyed or severely impacted, leaving families in distress and uncertainty over missing remains.

The incident has also reopened painful wounds for other families, including Madeline Shuqayleh, whose sister Maram and four-month-old niece Yumna were buried in al-Batsh cemetery after being killed in an air strike in October 2023.

“Now they’ve deprived us… as if they killed her again,” she said, adding that the family still does not know what happened to the bodies after the cemetery was excavated.

The UN and rights groups have also recorded cases of missing bodies and damaged burial sites across Gaza during military operations, further deepening the trauma of families already devastated by loss.

For Rola Abu Seedo, the grief became unbearable after her father’s grave — placed in a temporary cemetery near al-Shifa hospital — was later bulldozed during an Israeli incursion, leaving the family with no marker and no certainty of where he rests.

“My father has no grave today,” she said, describing the pain of losing even the final place of remembrance.