Gaza City Holds Mass Funeral for 50 Palestinians Recovered From Rubble of 2023 Strikes

Thousands of Palestinians attended a mass funeral in Gaza City on August 20, 2026 for 50 people — including 19 children — whose remains civil defense teams recovered over the preceding two weeks from the rubble of homes bombed by Israel in the early months of the war. The victims belonged to the Sawafiri, Batniji, Karam, Al-Af, Haraz, and Raqiq families, killed when Israeli strikes hit their homes in Gaza City in December 2023. The funeral procession began at Al-Shifa Hospital, with political, community and tribal figures joining, before the flag-draped remains were taken for burial at Al-Ahli cemetery in the Zeitoun neighborhood.