"There Is Nowhere Left to Bury Bodies"… Gaza Cemetery Operator Reveals War Horrors

"Most of the Dead Are Women and Children"
"Only Three Hamas Fighters," Claim

The death toll from the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip of Palestine has surpassed 30,000. Among them, local funeral workers have expressed concerns about the lack of space to bury the overwhelming number of bodies.

People are burying bodies in a mass grave site in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip.
[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

On the 5th (local time), the American CNN reported the story of Sadie Baraka (64), a funeral worker at a cemetery in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza. Baraka said that since the war began, he has buried as many as 16,880 deceased. This number exceeds half of the cumulative death toll of 30,631 recently reported by the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.

Baraka buries dozens of bodies every day from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the cemetery. Despite having expanded the cemetery several times to accommodate the endless influx of bodies since the war started, he said that recently there has been a shortage of additional space to bury the dead. Baraka said, "We conduct mass burials of about 30 to 40 people at a time," adding, "I have buried as many as 167 people at once. My only wish is to obtain tiles and cement so that we can conduct funerals with dignity."

Baraka said he is an experienced funeral worker who has also worked in Israel in the past. However, even he finds it difficult to accept the horrors unfolding before his eyes since the war began, from the bodies of mutilated children to the remains of entire families wiped out, and scenes of hundreds of bodies being buried together. He revealed that he suffers from insomnia every night, saying, "Even if I swallow 2 kilograms of sleeping pills, I probably won't be able to sleep." Baraka emphasized, "All I want is peace."

Baraka estimated that 85% of the bodies he buried were women and children. He speculated, "Many women lost their lives because they stayed at home and could not flee." He also dismissed Israel's claim that about one-third of the Gaza death toll?around 10,000 people?were Hamas militants as "false." He asserted that only about three Hamas militants' bodies were among those he buried.

Recently, in the Gaza Strip, not only deaths caused by Israeli airstrikes but also deaths from severe food shortages have been increasing. A World Health Organization (WHO) official who visited northern Gaza told CNN, "We confirmed children dying from severe malnutrition and starvation, as well as serious shortages of fuel, food, and medical supplies." On the 29th of last month, a tragedy occurred in Gaza City where at least 118 residents died while crowding around a relief truck.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.