At least 308 members of the extended Al-Hassayna clan died that day. They have been slowly recovered from the rubble of pulverized residential buildings years after their deaths, efforts that Israel effectively blocked through its military operations and ongoing and creeping annexation of our land. It took a recovery team of 40 workers over 17 days to identify the remains of just one-third of the Al-Hassaynas murdered by Israel.
Yet, as devastating as it was to mourn 112 souls that day, the deeper agony lies in the remaining unburied. At least 8,000 people remain buried under the rubble across Gaza, a likely undercount of those martyred here. Over 100 people from the same neighborhood in Gaza City remain unaccounted for, their bodies buried beneath mountain-high mounds of crushed concrete.
It is as if Israel vaporized them into thin air, leaving families without the closure of even a funeral or grave. In some instances, Israeli demolition efforts that have flattened cities like Rafah in southern Gaza leave many wondering if they will ever recover their loved ones, or if Israel will wash away its crimes as it works to eradicate any semblance of Palestinian existence.
Indeed, any claim of ending the war obscures the fact that Gaza has been systematically converted into a vast, enclosed prison for its surviving inhabitants and the dead alike. Freedom of movement is nonexistent. Travel abroad is nearly impossible. Israel continues to inhibit the inflow of basic humanitarian necessities — clean water, food, fuel and vital medical supplies — in what remains one of its primary weapons of control in its long-running, illegal blockade of Gaza. Reconstruction is actively blocked, schools and universities lie in ashes and any attempt at rebuilding basic human dignity is intentionally thwarted.
What makes this horrific reality even more frustrating is the painful gap between global public sentiment and official policy. Across every continent, millions of people of conscience, including students, human rights advocates, labor leaders and everyday citizens, have taken to the streets in unprecedented numbers in support of our people and against Israel’s genocide. The world grieves for Gaza, recognizing that our struggle is a fundamentally human one.
Yet, despite this overwhelming global empathy, political leadership in major Western capitals continues to parrot the narrative provided to them, ignoring the blood running down our streets. Most of these Western states that do speak do so with little expectation or interest in seriously changing this reality, merely offering toothless rhetoric that allows them to pat themselves on the back and move on.
To claim that the war is over while missiles continue to fall, while 112 bodies are buried in a single afternoon and while thousands remain missing under shattered homes is a betrayal of truth and morality. It represents a willingness to let Palestinians suffer and die in silence as the world moves on. Meanwhile, we remain in this ghastly existence of a life.
The views and positions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of DAWN.