Gaza families bid farewell to 100 dead after 2 years in rubble

Families in Gaza City on Saturday bid farewell to approximately 100 Palestinians recovered from beneath the rubble of destroyed homes, ending more than two years of waiting for relatives killed in Israeli attacks during the war on the enclave.

Recovery from the rubble

Near the Imam al-Shafi'i Mosque in the city's southeastern Zeitoun neighborhood, rows of remains draped in Palestinian flags lay before relatives who lit candles and laid flowers among photographs of the dead. Some searched for family members they had not seen since their homes were bombed, while others stood over remains that bore little resemblance to the people they remembered.

The bodies were recovered in recent days by Gaza's Civil Defense from homes belonging to the Rahim, Balawi, Malaka and Qanbour families as part of a project to retrieve Palestinians still buried beneath buildings destroyed during Israel's war on the enclave. Crews are working with only a handful of excavators and worn-out equipment because of Israeli restrictions on the entry of machinery needed for recovery operations, according to Anadolu.

'My whole life is gone'

Among the mourners was Maryam Hassan al-Balawi, who stood before members of the family she had waited years to recover alongside her only surviving daughter, Malak. "My husband and my children were killed. I have no one left except my only surviving daughter, Malak," Balawi told Anadolu. "My whole life is gone. My husband and my children are gone. I have no life left," she said, adding that Malak still cries every day for her father and siblings.

Balawi recalled her husband's final request before he was killed — "If I die, shroud me with your own hands and bury me with your own hands" — while describing the years she spent returning to the ruins where her family remained buried. Yet recovering the remains brought a measure of relief after years of waiting.

"When they brought them out, I felt some relief in my heart, as though my soul came out with them," she said. "I used to go there every day and say: 'God, let them come out so I can see them.' Today, after they were recovered, I feel a little peace."

'These are not numbers'

Jadallah Rahim stood nearby beside the remains of 32 relatives killed when their home was struck on Feb. 19, 2024 — more than 15 of them children and around 10 women. "Their only 'fault' was that they stayed in their homes," said Rahim. "They were suddenly bombed and they were all killed in an instant."

Thirty-three people had been inside at the time, he said, pointing to a girl standing nearby who was the sole survivor. The others remained beneath the destroyed home for around two-and-a-half years before Civil Defense crews were finally able to reach them after days of digging with limited equipment.

Looking toward the names placed beside the remains, Rahim stressed that those before him were not merely casualty figures. "These are not numbers," he said. "Look at their names. Men, women, children, elderly people."

Recovery ended one wait but reopened another wound. "This is not joy," said Rahim. "The grief came back. The pain came back. The tears came back."

He pointed to a young girl moving among the remains of her family, saying she lost her father, mother, sisters and brothers. As darkness settled above Zeitoun on Saturday, candles continued to burn beside the rows of remains, surrounded by flowers and families who had waited years for this moment.

The second phase of the Civil Defense recovery project covers 147 destroyed homes in Gaza City and the northern and central Gaza Strip, where an estimated 1,072 bodies remain beneath the rubble. During the first phase, launched in November 2025, crews recovered around 333 bodies and sets of remains from 54 destroyed homes and buildings. Since October 2023, Israel's war on Gaza has killed at least 73,651 Palestinians and injured 174,575, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.