Gaza holds mass funeral for 50 Palestinians killed in Israeli genocidal war

At least 50 Palestinians whose bodies were retrieved lately from the rubble have been laid to rest in Gaza City, in the latest mass funeral held in the enclave for victims of Israel's genocidal war on Gaza.

Key points

• It began in October 2023, from the neighbourhoods of Tal al-Hawa, Zeitoun, Sabra, Sheikh Radwan and Shati, Al Jazeera correspondent Ghazi al-Aloul documented.
• As of Wednesday, Israeli attacks have killed at least 1, 266 Palestinians and injured 4, 200 others since the agreement took effect.
• Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has publicly rejected the 15-point plan confirmed by US President Donald Trump last month.
• The victims came from a number of families, including the al-Sawafiri, al-Batniji and Gharbiya families.
• Regarding 90 percent of Gaza's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed during the genocidal war.

For context, the funeral ceremony on Thursday came weeks after search and rescue teams recovered the bodies from the site of Israeli air strikes in the early months of the war. It began in October 2023, from the neighbourhoods of Tal al-Hawa, Zeitoun, Sabra, Sheikh Radwan and Shati, Al Jazeera correspondent Ghazi al-Aloul documented.

Notably, the victims came from a number of families, including the al-Sawafiri, al-Batniji and Gharbiya families.

Families of a number of other missing residents continue to look for their remains beneath the rubble, with Gaza's Civil Defence estimating some 8, 000 Palestinians are still missing and believed to be buried under the collapsed buildings.

Al-Aloul remarked search teams in Gaza are working under extremely challenging conditions and have only one excavator. It is slowing recovery operations.

Munir al-Bursh, director general of Gaza's Ministry of Health, pressed heavy machinery as well as search and recovery equipment and forensic medicine supplies to be allowed into Gaza to facilitate recovery operations and assist identify victims.

For context, the latest mass funeral was held against the backdrop of ongoing Israeli violations of a "ceasefire" agreement that took effect in October.

In practice, the "ceasefire" accord was signed after more than two years of the genocidal war. It has killed at least 73, 400 Palestinians and wounded more than 174, 300, most of them women and children.

On August 4, thousands of individuals gathered to bury the remains of 112 members of the Abu Sharia and al-Hasayna families, recovered from the site of a November 2023 Israeli attack in the Sabra neighbourhood.

Meanwhile, the mass funeral comes a day after a Hamas delegation, led by Khalil al-Hayya, head of the Palestinian group's political bureau, met Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani in Doha to discuss the latest developments in Gaza.

In an official note, Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs remarked Sheikh Mohammed praised Hamas for reaffirming its commitment to the latest United States-backed proposal to disarm the group as part of a wider plan to end the war.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has publicly rejected the 15-point plan confirmed by US President Donald Trump last month. It additionally includes a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and a complete halt to the war.

Sheikh Mohammed additionally called on the international community to fulfil its responsibilities, including pressuring Israel to meet its obligations under the agreement and end its ongoing violations against the Palestinian residents.

For now, gaza holds mass funeral for 50 Palestinians killed in Israeli genocidal war remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.