Six months into the so-called “ceasefire” in the Gaza Strip, thousands of families still cannot bury their loved ones. About 10,000 Palestinians remain missing, believed to be buried under collapsed buildings since the start of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023. On October 10 last year, an internationally mediated agreement was signed between Israel and Hamas, aiming to end the conflict.
The United Nations says Israeli bombardment has generated more than 61 million tonnes of rubble in the besieged and battered Strip, leaving entire communities entombed. Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary spoke to a Palestinian father in Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza. Abu Mohammed survived an Israeli attack after rescuers pulled him from beneath the rubble.
Four of his children did not. Since then, he has lived beside the ruins of his home, where their bodies remain trapped. He managed to bury his wife, his mother, and one of his children.
The rest are still beneath the debris. There is no way I can do this, even with an excavator. This needs heavy equipment,” said Abu Mohammed.
Two of his surviving children are in Cairo in neighbouring Egypt, receiving medical treatment alone, without a parent. The ceasefire was supposed to allow heavy machinery into Gaza to begin recovery efforts and reunite families. Months later, that has not happened.
In just one apartment block in Bureij, at least 50 bodies are still trapped beneath the rubble, untouched since October 2023. Six months into the ceasefire, conditions on the ground have barely shifted. Families continue to wait as bodies are not yet recovered; meanwhile, Israeli attacks persist.
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