The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas says the recovery and burial of the bodies of 112 Palestinians from beneath the rubble of a building in Gaza nearly three years after an Israeli airstrike stand as enduring testimony to Israel’s crimes during the war on the besieged territory.
Khalil al-Hayya, head of Hamas Political Bureau offered condolences to the Abu Sharia and al-Hasayneh families after they buried 112 relatives whose remains were recovered from the rubble of a house in Gaza City’s al-Sabra neighborhood, where they had sought shelter from Israeli attacks before the building was bombed.
Al-Hayya described the incident as one of the deadliest massacres carried out during Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, saying the victims’ bodies had remained trapped beneath the rubble for nearly three years.
“The blood of these martyrs will remain a living testimony to the scale of the crimes committed against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip,” he said, adding that the sight of dozens of coffins carrying the bodies of men, women and children reflected Israel’s attempts to wipe out entire Palestinian families.
The senior Hamas official further said the killings placed responsibility on the international community to halt the violence and hold those responsible accountable.
On Tuesday, thousands of Palestinians took part in one of the largest funerals held in Gaza since the start of the war, as the bodies of 112 victims, draped in Palestinian flags, were laid beside the ruins of the residential building where they had been killed nearly three years earlier.
During the funeral, Gaza Civil Defense spokesman Mahmoud Basal appealed to the international community, asking why children in Gaza continued to be killed and urging people around the world to respond to the suffering of Palestinians.
According to Palestinian sources, the total number of people killed or still missing from the Abu Sharia and al-Hasayna families at the site has reached 308, making it one of the deadliest massacres resulting from Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip.
Recovery operations remain underway across the territory, with dozens of families still awaiting news of relatives believed to be buried beneath the rubble of destroyed homes and buildings.
The funeral took place months after rescue teams were finally able to reach the area, following prolonged military operations and widespread destruction that had prevented access to the site.
In a separate statement, the Palestinian Mujahideen Movement said the recovery of the 112 bodies constituted further evidence of Israeli brutality, calling the withholding and delayed recovery of the bodies of civilians, including women, children and the elderly from the Abu Sharia and al-Hasayna families, a war crime and an example of genocide.
The movement went on to say that Israel’s blockade of Gaza and the prolonged inability to recover the bodies would remain a lasting testament to the international community’s silence and complicity in Israeli crimes.
It also noted that the funeral of the victims sent a message of resilience and defiance, saying Israel had failed in its attempts to break the resolve of the Palestinian people.
The movement further stressed that, despite ongoing Israeli crimes, Palestinians would remain steadfast and committed to their land until its liberation.
Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza that began on October 7, 2023 has killed more than 73,000 Palestinians, wounded over 174,000, and destroyed around 90% of civilian infrastructure, according to Gaza authorities.
In violation of a ceasefire that took effect on October 10, 2025, Israeli attacks have continued, resulting in 1,250 deaths and 4,110 injuries across the besieged territory.
