In the midst of the conflict in the Gaza Strip, Israeli forces have destroyed over 2,000 graves.
Even the deceased are not spared, as bodies are unearthed and hasty burials occur in hospitals and a school. The Ministry of Awqaf and Religious Affairs in Hamas-run Gaza reports a pattern of desecration by Israeli forces.
The Israeli military denies targeting cemeteries but acknowledges potential damage to civilian sites during the war. Responding to body-snatching allegations, it claims actions are taken in specific locations where hostages may be located, with non-hostages returned with dignity.
The ongoing conflict, triggered by Hamas’s October 7 attacks, has resulted in numerous casualties. Palestinians face challenges reaching cemeteries, resorting to makeshift graveyards. Mass graves at al-Shifa Hospital underscore the severity of the situation, with families hoping to move their deceased once the war concludes.
The Israeli military said it “in no way targets cemeteries as such, and has no policy of harming or desecrating cemeteries”.
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But it also said “cemeteries or specific gravesites, like other civilian sites or structures, can come to be damaged” during the war.
Responding to allegations that soldiers have snatched bodies from graves, the military told the AFP news agency that it acts “in the specific locations where information indicates that the bodies of hostages may be located”.
“Bodies determined not [to] be those of hostages are returned with dignity and respect,” it said in a statement.
“I felt that my heart would stop,” said Saida, adding that her father, grandparents and other relatives were buried at the site in northern Gaza.
“I felt that their souls trembled … I can’t imagine how anyone dares to dig up graves and violate the sanctity of the dead,” Saida said.
“My daughter died in my arms … we waited day and night and couldn’t send her to the emergency room,” said the woman, who did not give her name.
“I marked his grave, [but] now the hospital park is crammed with mass graves. I barely recognise my son’s grave,” he said.
Wael Dahdouh, Al Jazeera’s Gaza bureau chief, said he had “no choice” but to bury his son in an overcrowded cemetery in southern Rafah after the young journalist was killed in an Israeli attack.
“We will transfer him to the martyrs cemetery in Gaza after the end of the war. We want his grave to be near to us so that we can visit him and pray for him,” Dahdouh said.
