More than 100 victims of 2023 Israeli airstrike laid to rest in Gaza City

More than 100 victims of a 2023 Israeli airstrike were laid to rest in Gaza City on Tuesday in one of the largest funerals held in the Palestinian enclave since the war between Hamas and Israel began nearly three years ago.

According to Palestinian authorities, the attack on the Sabra neighborhood in November 2023 killed 308 members of the Hassayna and Abu Sharia families, including 30 women and 40 children. The bodies remained beneath the rubble for years as the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) bombarded Gaza and conducted a ground invasion of the densely populated enclave.

Mourners held prayers beside the remains of 112 victims, whose coffins were draped in Palestinian flags, some bearing photographs of children. A total of 157 people remain missing, officials said.

Mahmoud Basal, a spokesman for Gaza’s civil defense agency, said the remains of more than 150 victims had yet to be found. The attack was “one of the greatest tragedies witnessed by Gaza’s families during the war,” he wrote on X.

“My message to the world is that it must put an end to this repression and genocide,” one family member told RT. He added that the youngest victim was a one-and-a-half-year-old girl.

The war began with a surprise Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which left around 1,200 people dead and more than 200 taken hostage. More than 73,000 Palestinians have since been killed during Israel’s military operations, while nearly the entire population of Gaza has been displaced.