As families retrieve bodies, Gaza is running out of places to bury the dead

As families in Gaza attempt to bury their dead, the territory is facing a dire crisis: there are simply no more places to lay the deceased to rest. The situation has become increasingly desperate as the number of casualties continues to rise, and existing burial sites are either overcrowded, destroyed, or repurposed for other uses. In the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City, 20-year-old Omar al-Sawhi is struggling to find a suitable resting place for his father, Mohammad, 40, who was killed on June 10 after being shot in the neck while working at a roadside tea and coffee stall near the “Yellow Line,” an Israeli-mandated military zone. Mohammad's death added yet another tragedy to the growing list of Palestinian fatalities, and Omar’s attempts to secure a burial site have proven futile. When he arrived at the Zeitoun Cemetery, he found it overwhelmed with densely packed graves, many of them hastily marked with nothing more than stones and pieces of paper bearing the names of the deceased. The conditions in the cemetery reflect the broader crisis: limited space, scarce resources, and the relentless toll of war. “Standing in the middle of the cemetery, I saw so many graves,” Omar recounted. “There were mountains of sand, with people buried underneath. A grave was just a stone with a piece of paper bearing the name of the martyr, without the grave being built or properly prepared as it was before the war.” The financial burden of burial has also grown insurmountable for many families. A standard grave now costs around 500 shekels ($167), a price that many cannot afford. In Omar’s case, the family had to resort to an unconventional solution: burying Mohammad in his grandfather’s grave. This practice, though deeply symbolic, highlights the desperation faced by grieving families. The challenges extend beyond individual cases. With the collapse of essential services in Gaza and the persistent threat of Israeli attacks, thousands of Palestinians have been classified as “missing.” Many of these individuals were initially laid to rest in makeshift locations, gardens, tents, or even the grounds of displaced persons camps, schools, and hospitals. Following a temporary decrease in hostilities after a U.S.-brokered ceasefire in October 2025, families have begun recovering the bodies of their loved ones from the rubble of destroyed homes or temporary burial sites. Since the ceasefire, at least 1,200 Palestinians have been confirmed dead, each requiring a burial spot. According to Gaza’s Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs, the remains of 529 Palestinians have been recovered from seven mass graves located within hospital grounds. These efforts, however, are hampered by the sheer scale of the crisis. The shortage of burial space is not solely due to the over 73,000 deaths since the war began in October 2023, but also to the deliberate destruction of cemeteries by Israeli forces. More than 40 cemeteries have been obliterated, and access to remaining burial sites is restricted in areas controlled by Israel. Additionally, the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians has led to the conversion of former burial grounds into shelters for the displaced. The cost of burial has risen dramatically, ranging from 700 to 1,000 shekels ($235–$335). Materials such as masonry from destroyed buildings, mud, or corrugated metal sheets are often used as temporary grave markers until funds can be secured for permanent headstones. Ikrami al-Madallal, a media official at the Endowments Ministry, explained that many of Gaza’s 60 cemeteries were already at full capacity before the war. “We need to establish new cemeteries because of the shortage of available burial space,” he stated. The ministry is actively seeking new burial grounds and faces the ongoing challenge of relocating bodies from temporary storage to formal cemeteries, a process that requires coordination among multiple government agencies. Tafesh Abu Hatab, a gravedigger in his 50s, has witnessed firsthand the transformation of his profession amid the conflict. He described how the work has become both physically and emotionally taxing, with the constant pressure of finding space for the newly deceased. His experiences underscore the deepening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where the inability to provide dignified burials adds to the suffering of countless families.