GAZA, (PIC)
Citizen Muhammad Abu Tayr tries to restore what can be restored from his father’s grave in the family cemetery in the Bani Suhaila cemetery east of Khan Yunis in southern Gaza Strip, who died many years ago, while others’ attempts to find the graves of their loved ones have failed.
The military occupation vehicles wreaked havoc, destruction, and exhumation of graves in the Bani Suhaila cemetery during the latest incursion east of Khan Yunis that began on July 22 and lasted eight days.
Abu Tayr tells our correspondent that he was shocked by the sight of the complete leveling of the cemetery and the exhumation of the graves.
What is the sin of the dead in their graves?
He adds that there is no sanctity for the dead, asking: “What is the sin of the dead in their graves? What did they do for their dignity and sanctity to be violated?”
He continues that he and a number of people from the area rushed to the cemetery to try to restore and repair it after it was completely leveled by the Israeli occupation forces (IOF).
Where is my father’s grave?
On the opposite side of the cemetery, the citizen Ghaida Abu Taym cries and tells our correspondent that she cannot find her mother’s grave after the IOF completely leveled the cemetery, without the slightest consideration for human and moral feelings.
The Bani Suhaila cemetery is not the only one that the occupation forces exhume or destroy, as Israel has destroyed all the cemeteries that exist in the areas that have been subjected to ground operations throughout the Gaza Strip.
Our correspondent was on a tour of the main Khan Yunis cemetery west of the city and witnessed the depth of Zionist hatred, as the graves were not spared from exhumation and destruction.
He confirmed that the features of the cemetery have been completely changed, and the bones of the dead have been scattered due to IOF brutality, as the cemetery has been turned into a battlefield of war and destruction.
In addition to the destruction and bombing of the official cemeteries in the Gaza Strip, the occupation forces have exhumed and leveled the mass and temporary graves that were established in the courtyards of hospitals, neighborhoods, and streets, as it was impossible to transport the bodies to the cemeteries.
Exhumation and theft of corpses
In a previous statement, the Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor reported that it documented the Israeli occupation army’s assault on several cemeteries in the Gaza Strip by deliberately leveling them, exhuming and desecrating the graves, and stealing dozens of corpses amid the ongoing genocide against Palestinian civilians since last October 7th.
Noor Nasser, a resident of Gaza City who was displaced to southern Gaza, said that her late brother Muhammad (in his twenties) was buried in the Al-Batash cemetery east of Gaza City in a dismembered state, but they were later shocked to find that the cemetery had been subjected to leveling operations, leaving no remains of her brother. Nasser added, “The Israeli army not only killed my brother but also deprived the family of even visiting his grave.”
In another incident, the Israeli army stormed the cemetery of the Al-Tufah neighborhood east of Gaza City with its military vehicles, exhuming more than a thousand graves. Residents of the neighborhood said that more than 150 recently buried bodies were stolen.
On December 25th, the Euro-Med Monitor reported that it had received several testimonies about the Israeli army leveling the Beit Hanoun cemetery north of the Gaza Strip and desecrating the graves within it.
Muhammad Abu Awad from the town of Beit Hanoun said they were surprised by the traces of the Israeli army’s invasion of the town’s cemetery, demolishing the graves with military vehicles and completely destroying the cemetery.
Abu Awad mentioned that they observed the Israeli army digging in specific graves within the cemetery, exhuming the bodies of the recently buried dead and stealing them, as the remaining corpses became mixed up, making it difficult to identify any of them due to the leveling and excavation operations.
By destroying the cemeteries, Israel did not leave any sanctities or abominations that it did not commit, as it tries to eradicate everything in the Gaza Strip, even the dead.
