After 15 months of conflict, Hani al-Dibs, a high-school teacher, hoped for an end to the bombardment of Gaza. However, the recent cease-fire has brought feelings of bitterness and dread instead.
Mr. al-Dibs is among many Gazans facing the painful task of recovering the remains of loved ones trapped under rubble from the conflict between Israel and Hamas. Some families returning home have discovered corpses so decomposed they cannot be identified, while others are unable to enter the wreckage due to the overwhelming stench of decay. Many have searched in vain, finding no trace of their loved ones.
As Mr. al-Dibs and his two surviving children prepared to return to their hometown of Jabaliya, they repeatedly asked if their mother and younger siblings might have survived the blast that buried them for three months. “Their questions torment me,” he shared.
Gazan health authorities have reported nearly 48,000 deaths, without differentiating between civilians and combatants. Additionally, families have reported 9,000 individuals as missing and presumed dead under the rubble, with many still unaccounted for as investigations continue.
In mid-October, during intense fighting, Israeli forces destroyed the building that housed three generations of the Dibs family. Mr. al-Dibs was forced to leave behind 14 family members, including his wife and two youngest children, as he sought medical assistance for those he managed to rescue. He vowed to return for their bodies, a promise that took months to fulfill.
After repeated requests to Israel for access to the site were denied, Mr. al-Dibs and his children finally returned home on foot as the cease-fire began. They encountered devastation beyond their expectations, with bombings having leveled buildings and left piles of debris over their family home.
Relatives arrived to assist, but due to the ongoing siege, they lacked proper tools for excavation. “We used what we could find: shovels, picks, and our bare hands,” Mr. al-Dibs recounted.
After hours of digging, Mr. al-Dibs discovered parts of a skeleton he believed belonged to his son, Hasib, but found no trace of his wife or younger son, Habib. An emotional moment was captured on camera as he realized he would never recover their bodies. “I brought big shrouds! And little shrouds! But I found their bodies reduced to ashes!” he exclaimed.
Following the burial of Hasib’s remains, his daughter began to question why they could not have graves for her mother and Habib, expressing her need for a place to mourn.
Others who have found their loved ones face their own psychological struggles. Ahmad Shbat, 25, discovered some relatives' bodies intact, leaving him to ponder their suffering while awaiting rescue.
Since the cease-fire, medical workers have been tasked with retrieving dozens of unidentified bodies, documenting details and belongings before transporting them to morgues. Gaza’s Civil Defense has urged residents not to attempt retrievals independently due to the risk of unexploded ordnance, emphasizing that major excavation efforts cannot proceed without heavy equipment.
Despite these warnings, many Gazans, like Ramy Nasr, are determined to recover their loved ones. Mr. Nasr, who previously shared his family's tragedy, returned to the site of an explosion that killed his siblings and paid workers to drill a tunnel for retrieval. He found the bodies so decomposed that identification was challenging, ultimately sorting them into two graves.
As graveyards in Gaza fill rapidly, Mr. Nasr noted, “Before the war, every person was put into their own grave. These days, there isn’t enough room — or time.”