Thousands bid farewell as Gaza buries 112 members of two families killed in Israeli attacks

Gaza has held its largest mass funeral for more than 100 members of two extended families killed in a single Israeli strike in 2023.
Their remains are finally being laid to rest, giving surviving relatives a sense of closure after years of loss…

Thousands of Palestinians gathered in Gaza City on Tuesday to attend the funeral of 112 members of the members of the Hasayna and Abu Sharia families, whose bodies were recently recovered from beneath the rubble of homes destroyed in Israeli bombardments during the ongoing genocide in the besieged enclave.

The victims, including children, women, men and elderly relatives, were wrapped in Palestinian flags and laid in rows amid the ruins of the family’s destroyed homes and surrounding buildings in Gaza City’s al-Sabra neighbourhood before the funeral procession made its way to Sheikh Shaaban Cemetery in central Gaza.

The funeral unfolded amid scenes of profound grief, with children placing flowers on the shrouds while relatives wept as they bid farewell to their loved ones, showed videos.

Speaking after the funeral, Yousef Abu Sharia said that 308 members of these two families have been killed by Israeli forces since the beginning of the genocide, WAFA, Palestinian agency reported.

He said to the news agency that those buried on Tuesday included infants, mothers, fathers, young people and elderly relatives, adding that “Israeli missiles spared no one.”

Dr. Jadou Abu Sharia, representing the family, described the ceremony as “the largest funeral in contemporary Palestinian history.”

Family elder Ali Abu Sharia said to the news agency that the 112 victims included 44 children, 37 women, 23 elderly people and seven persons with disabilities.

The area was once home to the two families before they were killed in an Israeli strike in 2023.

Ali Abu Sharia said the family had come under repeated Israeli airstrikes targeting its homes and residential compounds from the earliest days of the assault.

The first strike took place on October 20, 2023, when a five-storey family home was bombed, killing 14 relatives. He said the deadliest attack occurred on November 22, 2023, when Israeli forces carried out an intensive bombardment of a residential block in al-Sabra where around 300 members of the family had taken shelter. Dozens were killed in the attack. While 70 victims were buried at the time, many others remained trapped beneath the debris until their bodies were recovered recently.

According to Ali Abu Sharia, Israeli forces continued targeting members of the family in subsequent attacks. These included the bombing of the Abu Salem Abu Sharia building in May 2024, which killed 15 people, and an attack on family members attempting to flee Gaza City in August 2025 that killed eight people, including children.

He said those killed included businessman Ibrahim al-Hassaina, owner of a contracting company and several commercial buildings, and businessman Ismail al-Hassaina, owner of exchange offices and a real estate company. Employees, civilians and members of the family holding foreign nationalities were also among those killed, which he said demonstrated that civilians from all walks of life had been targeted, the news agency reported.

Ali Abu Sharia added that the family has so far buried 267 of its members, while the fate of another 41 remains unknown. Their bodies are believed either to remain buried beneath the rubble or to have been scattered by the intensity of the bombardment.

According to medical sources, Israeli forces have wiped out 2,276 Palestinian families during the genocide, killing 8,858 family members without leaving a single survivor.

Another 2,348 families have been left with only one surviving member.

The funeral was attended by thousands of mourners, including representatives of other Palestinian families that have suffered devastating losses during the Israeli assault.

Among those attending the funeral was Abdul Rahman Abu Hasira, who said his family had lost around 500 members in separate Israeli strikes targeting residential blocks across Gaza City, reported WAFA Palestinian agency.

He said he was the sole survivor of an attack on his family’s home on November 4, 2023, in which his parents, four siblings and 45 members of his extended family were killed.

According to medical sources, Israel’s ongoing genocide in the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023, has killed more than 73,000 Palestinians, in addition to leaving tens of thousands wounded or missing, amid continuing bombardment, starvation and widespread destruction.