GAZA, Tuesday, August 4, 2026 (WAFA) – Thousands of Palestinians in Gaza City on Tuesday attended the funeral of 112 members of the Abu Sharia al-Hassaina family after their bodies were recovered from beneath the rubble of homes destroyed in Israeli bombardments during the ongoing genocide in the Gaza Strip.
The bodies, including children, women, men, and elderly family members, were draped in Palestinian flags and lined up among the destroyed homes and buildings in the al-Sabra neighborhood before the funeral procession headed to Sheikh Shaaban Cemetery in central Gaza. The ceremony was marked by scenes of grief, as children scattered flowers over the shrouds and relatives bid farewell to their loved ones in tears.
Yousef Abu Sharia said Israeli forces have killed 308 members of the family since the start of the genocide, noting that those buried on Tuesday included infants, mothers, fathers, young people, and elderly relatives. He said that "Israeli missiles spared no one."
Family representative Dr. Jadou Abu Sharia described the funeral as "the largest funeral in contemporary Palestinian history," while family elder Ali Abu Sharia said the 112 victims included 44 children, 37 women, 23 elderly people, and seven persons with disabilities.
He explained that the family had been subjected to repeated Israeli airstrikes targeting its homes and residential blocks since the beginning of the assault. The first attack took place on October 20, 2023, when a five-story family home was bombed, killing 14 relatives.
He added that the deadliest attack occurred on November 22, 2023, when Israeli forces launched an intensive bombardment on a residential block in al-Sabra sheltering around 300 members of the family. Dozens were killed immediately, while 70 victims were buried at the time and others remained trapped beneath the rubble until their bodies were recently recovered.
He said Israeli forces continued targeting members of the family in subsequent attacks, including the bombing of the Abu Salem Abu Sharia building in May 2024, which killed 15 people, as well as an attack on family members attempting to flee Gaza City in August 2025 that killed eight people, including children.
Ali Abu Sharia said those killed included businessmen Ibrahim al-Hassaina, owner of a contracting company and several commercial buildings, and Ismail al-Hassaina, owner of exchange offices and a real estate company, as well as employees, civilians, and holders of foreign nationalities, saying their deaths demonstrate that civilians from all walks of life were targeted.
He added that the family has buried 267 members to date, while the fate of 41 others remains unknown, with their bodies believed either still trapped beneath the rubble or scattered by the intensity of the bombardment.
According to medical sources, Israeli forces have wiped out 2,276 Palestinian families during the genocide, killing 8,858 family members with no survivors, while 2,348 other families were left with only one surviving member.
Thousands of mourners attended the funeral, joined by representatives of other Palestinian families that have suffered heavy losses during the Israeli assault, including the Daghmash, Abu Hasira, al-Ghoul, al-Madhoun, Abu al-Qumsan, Salem, Abu Nasr, al-Batsh, Abu Shamala, al-Astal, and al-Farra families.
Abdul Rahman Abu Hasira, one of the mourners, said his family lost around 500 members in separate strikes targeting residential blocks across Gaza City. He said he was the sole survivor of an attack on his family's home on November 4, 2023, in which his parents and four siblings were killed among 45 family members.
According to medical sources, Israel's ongoing genocide in the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023, has killed more than 73,000 Palestinians, in addition to tens of thousands of wounded and missing people, amid continuing bombardment, starvation, and widespread destruction.
K.T
