On Tuesday, August 4th, 2026, the streets of Gaza City were filled with mourners carrying the bodies of 112 Palestinians, including more than 40 children, who were killed in Israeli strikes nearly three years ago. The deceased were members of two extended families from the Sabra neighborhood, which local authorities say was destroyed in an Israeli attack in November 2023, six weeks into the war triggered by Hamas' deadly attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023.

Gaza's Civil Defense agency spent over two weeks excavating the remains from the rubble of a residential block in Sabra. Mahmoud Basal, spokesperson for the Civil Defense, told ABC Australia News, "We retrieved 112 bodies, the rest of the bodies we could not reach — either they had evaporated [in the blast] or they were decomposed, or the bodies were mixed up and therefore all that we could identify was 112 bodies."

The Civil Defense believes more than 150 bodies remain trapped beneath the concrete, among thousands of Palestinians killed in the war who have yet to be recovered. Among the victims were 44 children, 37 women, 29 men, seven elderly over 70 years old, and nine individuals with special needs.

The funeral procession marched through nearby streets with chants and some firing weapons into the air. The event was described by attendees as the largest funeral in Gaza's recent history and was seen as a significant moment of mourning and healing. "This is the greatest remedy and healing for the people to retrieve their martyrs," a mourner said.

The mass funeral occurred amid ongoing debate about Gaza's future. Last week, Hamas announced it was prepared to lay down its weapons following days of deadly Israeli attacks that killed around 20 Palestinians, including children. However, the Board of Peace stated that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) would only withdraw to the original 'Yellow Line'—the boundary of IDF-controlled territory under the October 2025 ceasefire—after the "decommissioning" of Hamas' weapons was complete.

According to Israeli intelligence cited by the Board of Peace, "Over the past eight months, Hamas has used the ceasefire to rearm, recruit thousands of additional terrorists, rebuild its military infrastructure, and prepare for further October 7-style massacres."

Sources