A 65-year-old mortician in Gaza has said he buried between 17,000 and 18,000 Palestinian bodies since the Israel-Palestine conflict escalated in October 2023.
Yousef Abu Hatab told Anadolu Agency that most of the bodies buried at a cemetery in Khan Younis arrived without identification. He said burials were carried out under extreme pressure, often in mass graves, individual graves and even inside hospitals.
Calling the ongoing Israeli assault the most difficult period of his career, Abu Hatab recalled burying up to 15 bodies in a single grave and overseeing up to 100 burials a day before the ceasefire.
According to Gaza authorities, nearly 71,000 Palestinians—mostly women and children—have been killed and over 171,000 injured since the war began. Despite a ceasefire that took effect on October 10, Israel has allegedly violated the agreement, killing hundreds more.
Abu Hatab said a lack of shrouds, tools and materials due to the Israeli blockade has made the situation “unbearable.” He also recalled burying 550 bodies at Nasser Hospital during an Israeli siege in 2024.
Officials say 40 of Gaza’s 60 cemeteries have been destroyed, more than 1,000 bodies were removed by Israeli forces, and over 10,000 remain trapped under rubble.
Since the ceasefire came into effect, 406 people have been killed and 1,118 injured, while 653 bodies have been recovered from beneath the rubble.
It said the overall toll since the outbreak of the war on October, 2023, has risen to 70,942 dead and 171,195 wounded.
