On August 4, 2026, thousands of Palestinians gathered in Gaza City for a mass funeral to bury 112 members of the Abu Sharia and al-Hasayna families. The victims were killed nearly three years prior in a November 2023 Israeli airstrike on the Sabra neighborhood. Civil Defense teams recovered the skeletal remains after a 136-hour excavation. While the Israeli military maintains it does not target civilians and accuses Hamas of using human shields, Palestinian officials state that 157 people remain missing under the rubble.
Gaza mass funeral
- ▪The Palestinian Civil Defence in Gaza described the August 4, 2026, procession as the largest mass funeral in Palestinian history
- ▪A mass funeral was held in Gaza City on August 4, 2026, for 112 Palestinians whose remains were recovered from the rubble of destroyed homes
Sabra neighborhood airstrike
- ▪An Israeli airstrike in November 2023 targeted a residential compound in Gaza City's Sabra neighborhood, killing hundreds of residents
- ▪The November 2023 airstrike in the Sabra neighborhood killed 308 members of the Abu Sharia and al-Hasayna families
Civil Defense recovery operation
- ▪Palestinian authorities estimate that 157 people remain missing or unaccounted for under the rubble of the Sabra neighborhood site
- ▪Gaza Civil Defense teams recovered the 112 bodies after a 136-hour digging operation spanning approximately two weeks
Al-Hassyna family victims
- ▪The 112 recovered victims of the Abu Sharia and al-Hasayna families included 40 children, 30 women, and seven people with disabilities
- ▪The remains of the 112 family members recovered from the rubble consisted primarily of skeletal and decomposed remains
2023 Israeli strike
- ▪The Israeli military stated that it does not deliberately target civilian populations and takes feasible measures to mitigate civilian harm
- ▪The Israeli military stated that Hamas systematically operates from within, beneath, and near densely populated areas to shield military activities
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