DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza City: Large crowds of Palestinians gathered on August 4 to hold a mass funeral for more than 100 people whose bodies were only recently recovered from the site of a devastating Israeli airstrike carried out in Gaza in 2023.

The strike took place on November 22, 2023, during the early weeks of the war between Israel and Hamas. Israeli warplanes destroyed an entire residential block in the Sabra neighborhood of Gaza City, killing more than 300 people in one of the deadliest incidents of the conflict.

In the immediate aftermath of the attack, rescuers managed to recover around 40 bodies using basic tools and even their bare hands. However, the majority of victims remained trapped beneath the rubble, buried deep under the collapsed buildings. Due to the chaos at the time and the ongoing fighting, news of the scale of the casualties did not emerge fully until days later, shortly before the first ceasefire was agreed.

Over the weekend, rescue teams returned to the site and recovered additional remains. According to Gaza's Civil Defense, which operates under the Hamas-run Interior Ministry, the bodies of 112 people were found, including 40 children. Despite these efforts, officials said that 157 people are still missing and believed to be buried under the debris.

Speaking after the funeral prayers, a relative of some of the victims, Taysir al-Hassayna, said: "The only crime of these martyrs was that they remained steadfast and resilient in their homes, believing that these homes would protect them."

The recovery of these bodies has only recently become possible in some areas due to a fragile ceasefire that came into effect in October, allowing emergency crews to access previously unreachable locations. As a result, remains of people killed during the early and most intense stages of the war are still being discovered.

These findings have contributed to the steadily rising death toll from the conflict. The war began after a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, in which around 1,200 people were killed, and 251 others were taken hostage. In response, Israel launched a large-scale military offensive in Gaza, which has since killed more than 73,377 Palestinians, according to the territory's Health Ministry, including deaths recorded after the ceasefire.

Officials estimate that at least 7,400 people remain missing under the rubble, based on reports from relatives. However, the true number is believed to be significantly higher, as entire families were often killed in single strikes, leaving no one behind to report them missing.

Those buried during the August 4 funeral came from a residential building inhabited by members of the Hassayna and Abu Sharia families, many of whom were related. Investigations have identified at least 60 families across Gaza that lost 25 or more relatives during the first three months of the war.

During the funeral, the recovered remains were wrapped in Palestinian flags and arranged in rows on the ground. Many of the bodies were accompanied by photographs, and flower petals were scattered around them. Hundreds of mourners gathered for prayers, some standing atop the surrounding rubble of destroyed buildings.

After the prayers, the bodies were carried on stretchers through a narrow street lined with ruins before being laid to rest in a nearby cemetery.