Elderly Gazan undertaker buries 18,000 victims of Israel’s genocidal war

By Mohammed Majed and Lina Altawell

GAZA CITY/ISTANBUL (AA) – Burying nearly 18,000 bodies during Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza, undertaker Yousef Abu Hatab is a witness to one of the worst tragedies in Palestinian history.

With a hoe in his cracked hand, Abu Hatab, 65, buried the bodies that arrived one after another in the southern city of Khan Younis until the cemetery became so full.

Most of the buried bodies had no names, as the graves contained only remains torn to pieces by the relentless Israeli bombing.

“We buried the bodies in harsh conditions, in mass graves, individual graves, and inside hospitals, under unprecedented pressure and a high number of deaths,” he told Anadolu.

Abu Hatab said he once oversaw the burial of 15 bodies in just one hole due to the ferocity of the Israeli bombardment.

The Israeli war was the hardest episode in his career, which began in 2005.

“During the war, I oversaw the burial of between 17,000 and 18,000 Palestinian bodies,” he said.

The Israeli army has killed nearly 71,000 people, mostly women and children, and injured over 171,000 since October 2023 in a brutal war that has left the enclave in ruins.

The assault came to a halt under a ceasefire deal that took effect on Oct. 10. Israel, however, has repeatedly violated the agreement.

According to the Gaza Government Media Office, the Israeli army has killed at least 405 Palestinians and injured 1,108 others in attacks since the ceasefire.

- Mass burial

Abu Hatab starts his work at 6 am and sometimes extends beyond sunset.

He sometimes digs manually, using primitive tools, and collects remnants of stones and tiles from the debris caused by the Israeli bombardment in an attempt to restore the graves and honor the dead.

"The situation has become unbearable. There are no materials to build graves, no shrouds, and no tools because of the Israeli blockade."

Though the number of burials has declined these days under the ceasefire deal compared to the first months of the Israeli war, Abu Hatab still buries several bodies every day.

“During the war, we used to bury between 50 and 100 Palestinian bodies every day. Though the figure has now declined, the cemetery is still receiving bodies.”

He recalls burying around 550 bodies inside a makeshift grave at the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis during an Israeli siege on the facility last year.

During the two years of the Israeli assault, Palestinians in Gaza were forced to create makeshift mass and individual graves in neighborhoods, courtyards, wedding halls, and sports fields to bury their victims.

According to the Gaza Government Media Office, the Israeli army destroyed 40 out of 60 cemeteries in the enclave and stole the remains of more than 1,000 Palestinians.

The office also said that 529 Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks were exhumed from mass graves inside hospitals, in addition to more than 10,000 bodies still remaining under the rubble of destroyed buildings.

Israel still closes all Gaza crossings, preventing the entry of humanitarian aid and materials needed for the reconstruction of the territory despite the ceasefire.

- Sounds of funerals

Abu Hatab is working alone, handling the washing, shrouding, burial, and documentation of the bodies, due to the lack of staff and resources.

He says he documented everything that happened with his mobile phone.

“I sometimes buried bodies using only bags, without stones, tiles or cement,” said Abu Hatab, who was injured twice in Israeli attacks in 1988 and during the latest assault.

One of his difficult moments was in July when Abu Hatab was forced to open private graves for specific families to bury about 1,270 bodies amid non-stop Israeli attacks.

He also recalled burying a mute woman and her four children in a private cemetery.

“Two months later, a bag containing unidentified remains was brought to me for burial. I buried it in the same spot.”

He said he was forced to bury unidentified and mutilated bodies that he found in the streets and alleyways, some of which had been scavenged by animals.

With these tragic scenes, Abu Hatab can’t forget some images at night.

“There are nights when I can’t sleep at all,” he said. “The sounds of funerals, screaming and shelling don’t stop in my head.”