During the ongoing aggression on Gaza, a distressing situation is unfolding as the bodies are currently administered en masse into hospitals, which are already at full capacity. Meanwhile, traditional burial rituals are nearly impossible as heavy Israeli bombardments continue to hit the Strip, razing houses to the ground and committing massacres against the Palestinian people.

In more detail, the number of martyrs, primarily civilians, notably women and children, is rapidly increasing due to the intense bombardment of residential buildings and the targeting of those who have fled their homes in search of safety.

Read next: Israeli warplanes struck fleeing Palestinians after evacuation calls

According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, as of the latest report, the death toll has reached 2,390 martyrs. This translates to an average of 300 lives lost every 24 hours, as per the ministry's data.

Consequently, graveyards are overcrowded, and the journey to reach cemeteries is fraught with the constant threat of airstrikes. 

What happens when all cemeteries are full?

In Khan Yunis, the main cemetery is almost at full capacity, and, like other cemeteries in the region, a sign with the message "Burials Prohibited Here" has been placed at its perimeter.

Related News

'Israel' summons Vatican envoy over Pope’s Gaza stance: Israeli media

UN report reveals humanitarian repercussions of war on Gaza

As per a volunteer aiding in the burial process, the alternative to the main cemeteries involves digging graves in various locations around residential areas. Landowners have generously contributed their land for this purpose.

With hospital morgues at full capacity, families are compelled to look for alternative burial sites, as existing cemeteries can no longer accommodate additional graves. This situation has led families to enter multiple martyrs in a single grave.

A more alarming crisis is looming, as the available fuel for electricity generators is expected to run out within two days. This situation could lead to the decomposition and decay of bodies, worsened by the growing number of martyrs in mortuary refrigeration units.

Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Gaza reported, on Saturday, that medical crews are using ice cream freezers to preserve the bodies of martyrs in light of the unjust siege that encompasses everything.

#AlMayadeen's correspondent in #Gaza said medical crews are using ice cream freezers to keep the bodies of martyrs in the Strip in light of the unjust siege that encompasses everything, stressing that all the martyrs arriving at hospitals are civilians. #GazaUnderAttack… pic.twitter.com/5HDNKciOZo

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) October 14, 2023

Israeli massacring civilians, mostly children

The Israeli occupation is still launching its raids on the Gaza Strip, on the eighth day of the aggression against Gaza, the last of which was on Deir al-Balah in the middle of the Strip, the Al-Fakhoura neighborhood west of the Jabaliya camp, Hamid Street in the al-Shati' neighborhood, and on the city of Rafah.

Al Mayadeen's correspondent confirmed that the Israeli occupation committed three massacres in a one-hour span, noting that more than 90 martyrs, most of them children, died as a result of the Israeli bombing of Gaza in the last hours.

More than 20 from one family were wounded and arrived at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital as a result of the Israeli bombing, and at least 20 were martyred and more than 80 got injured in the Al-Fakhoura neighborhood massacre, west of Jabaliya.

This is genocide and ethnic cleansing.
This is what happening in #Gaza right now.#GazaUnderAttack pic.twitter.com/1PAgIIRXKI

— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) October 14, 2023

Al Mayadeen's correspondent reported that the occupation's strike on the Jawdeh family home resulted in 10 martyrs and dozens of wounded, while a strike on the Barghout family home resulted in 5 martyrs and dozens of wounded. Local sources reported that the entire Ghoul family was martyred in the bombing of the al-Shati' camp.