The bodies of 75 Palestinians, who were removed from the rubble in Gaza after nearly 3 years, were buried.

On December 13, 2023, the Israeli army bombed many houses containing civilians in the Derec District. Many Palestinians, including women and children, lost their lives in the attacks.

Within the scope of the work carried out by the Gaza Civil Defense Directorate to reach the bodies buried under the rubble of the buildings destroyed in the Israeli attacks, the bodies of 75 more Palestinians were recently found.

The bodies of 75 Palestinians removed from the rubble were lined up side by side in an area among the collapsed buildings in the Derec District, where the attacks were carried out. The bodies were wrapped in Palestinian flags and decorated with flowers.

Palestinians, who reached the bodies of their relatives after years, said goodbye to their loved ones in tears.

"Our wounds are still fresh"

Speaking to AA correspondent, Palestinian Muhammed Ataullah said that he lost his father, brothers, sisters and some relatives in the Israeli attack on the house they were in on December 13, 2023.

Stating that only he and his sister's daughter, who was 8 years old at the time, survived the attack, Ataullah said, "Our wounds are still fresh, we are losing blood every day. We will continue to remain loyal to our lands. We will not abandon these lands, we will not migrate from our homeland no matter what you do." he said.

"No mother should have to experience this pain"

Stating that he lost his wife, 8-year-old daughter and 2-year-old son in the attack in question, Rıdvan Hudri said, "I am here today not only as a woman who lost her husband or a mother who lost her children, but as a person who lost her entire family." he said.

Stating that their wounds started bleeding again when their relatives' bodies were found, but this wound never healed, Hudri said, "No mother should have to experience this pain." he said.

Abu Haytham Haccac stated that his family's bodies could not be removed from the rubble for a long time due to the ongoing attacks in the Gaza Strip and lack of equipment, and that their relatives' bodies could only be reached after years of waiting.

Funeral ceremony with large attendance

A funeral ceremony was held in the square in front of Derec Sports Club for 75 Palestinians who were rescued from the rubble in Gaza after nearly 3 years.

In addition to the relatives of the deceased, representatives of Palestinian groups and non-governmental organizations, opinion leaders and civil defense teams attended the ceremony.

After the ceremony, the bodies were buried in Sheikh Ridvan Cemetery in Gaza city.

Abdullah al-Majdalawi, Public Relations Director of the Civil Defense Directorate in Gaza, said that the bodies were removed from the rubble of houses where teams were working in Deraj Neighborhood in recent weeks.

Emphasizing that the houses in question were bombed with their residents in them in the first months of the Israeli army's attacks on the Gaza Strip, Mecdelavi stated that the bodies of those whose bodies were found belonged to 20 families, especially the Kasım, Zeytuniye, Ataullah, Kahveci, Hudari and Alvan families.

Majdalawi noted that the people whose bodies were found were those living in the houses in question or those who took shelter in these houses due to attacks.

Mecdelavi stated that debris removal and search and rescue efforts were carried out with difficulty due to limited resources and lack of heavy work machines, and that the teams continued their work with insufficient resources.

The "Removing the Bodies of the Martyrs" project was launched by the Gaza Civil Defense Directorate to remove the bodies buried under the rubble of the destroyed buildings during Israel's attacks on the Gaza Strip in October 2023.

In Gaza, where work has been interrupted due to the blockade imposed by Israel, teams are trying to reach the bodies under the rubble with a limited number of work machines and worn-out equipment. Mass funerals are held in the region for the bodies removed from the rubble.