Gaza holds mass funeral for 50 Palestinians killed by Israel

In Gaza City, a mass funeral was held on Thursday for at least 50 Palestinians whose bodies were found amid the rubble, following Israel's attack on the enclave. The victims were discovered following Israeli air strikes in the early months of the conflict, which began in October 2023. The funeral took place amidst the ongoing Israeli violations of a ceasefire agreement that was signed in October.

As of Wednesday, Israeli attacks have claimed the lives of at least 1,266 Palestinians and injured 4,200 others since the agreement's inception.

The victims were found in Tal al-Hawa, Zeitoun, Sabra, Sheikh Radwan and Shati neighborhoods. They belonged to several families, including the al-Sawafiri, al-Batniji and Gharbiya families. Many families are still searching for their missing loved ones, as Gaza's Civil Defence estimates that around 8,000 Palestinians are still missing and presumed to be buried under the debris.

The search and recovery operations are being conducted under challenging circumstances, with search teams only having access to one excavator, which is causing delays. Munir al-Bursh, the director general of Gaza's Ministry of Health, has called for heavy machinery and recovery equipment, as well as forensic medicine supplies, to be permitted into Gaza to expedite the recovery process and aid in the identification of victims.

The ceasefire agreement, which was signed after more than two years of the genocidal war, has seen Israeli attacks continue to take place. As of the latest count, Israeli attacks have killed at least 1,266 Palestinians and injured 4,200 others since the agreement went into effect. Since the beginning of the conflict, at least 73,400 Palestinians have been killed and over 174,300 have been wounded, with the majority of the casualties being women and children. Approximately 90 percent of Gaza's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed during the war.