‘I wanted to hug whatever remained’: Gaza families’ 3-year wait for funeral

What the report says

Thousands of mourners gathered in Gaza City’s Sabra neighbourhood for what Al Jazeera described as the largest mass funeral held in Gaza since the war began in 2023. The burial was for 112 members of the Abu Shreia and al-Hassaina families, whose remains were recovered from under rubble nearly three years after an Israeli air attack on their compound. The funeral took place on Tuesday, with the article published on 4 August 2026.

The report centers on Lara Abu Shreia, who lost 14 relatives in the 2023 strike, including her mother, siblings, and nieces and nephews. She told Al Jazeera that waiting for the remains brought back the shock of the original loss, and that she had long hoped someone might still be found alive. Another family member, Ali Abu Shreia, said two of his brothers and their families were killed, and described the victims as ordinary civilians who had tried to find shelter during the attack.

Palestinian Civil Defence teams recovered the bodies in recent weeks after difficult search operations in heavily damaged areas. Their spokesperson, Mahmoud Basal, said 112 bodies were found out of 153 people believed missing from the site, and that many more bodies are still thought to remain under Gaza’s destroyed buildings. He said recovery efforts are constrained by a lack of equipment and the extent of destruction.

The funeral highlighted both the personal grief of families and the broader challenge of recovering and identifying the dead across Gaza. In general background, large-scale debris removal and body recovery have been major humanitarian issues in the enclave because of widespread damage and limited access to heavy machinery, though the article notes that many victims may never be found.