Gaza Faces Burial Space Shortage as Families Seek to Rebury Loved Ones

Since the war in Gaza erupted, more than 73,000 Palestinians have been killed, while dozens of cemeteries have been destroyed or overwhelmed. In this context, families in Gaza face a heartbreaking challenge: there is no place left to bury their loved ones.

Omar al-Sawhi, 20, had to find a resting place for his father, Mohammad, 40, who was shot dead near the "Golden Road," a military zone controlled by Israel in Gaza. Mohammad, from the Zeitoun neighborhood in Gaza City, was working at a roadside tea and coffee stand when he was struck by a bullet in the neck on June 10, dying almost instantly.

When Omar arrived at Zeitoun Cemetery to bury his father, he found graves packed tightly together, many belonging to victims of the war that numerous international organizations have called a genocide by Israel in Gaza. He recounted: "I stood in the middle of the cemetery and saw many graves. There were sandy mounds, with people buried beneath them."

Each grave now costs about 500 shekels ($167), a sum his family could not afford. "There was no room for a new grave either, so we had to bury my father in my grandfather's grave," Omar said.

According to Gaza's Ministry of Finance and Religious Affairs, more than 40 cemeteries have been destroyed since the war began. Israeli forces have also imposed strict restrictions on access to cemeteries in areas they control. Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians forced to flee their homes have turned former burial grounds into shelters for the displaced.

Gaza authorities say a shortage of materials such as headstones has pushed burial costs to between 700 and 1,000 shekels ($235–$335). Many families resort to using rubble from destroyed buildings, mud, or tin sheets to mark graves temporarily until they can afford proper headstones.

Ikrami al-Madallal, a media official with the Ministry of Finance and Religious Affairs, said many of Gaza's 60 cemeteries had already reached full capacity by the start of the war. "We need to establish new cemeteries because of the shortage of burial space," he said. Transferring bodies from temporary burial sites to cemeteries also requires close coordination between authorities and cannot be done arbitrarily.

Since the U.S.-mediated ceasefire in October 2025, families have begun searching for and reburying loved ones from the rubble of demolished homes or temporary graves. At least 1,200 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire was announced. Authorities say the remains of 529 Palestinians have been exhumed from seven mass graves on hospital grounds.

Tafesh Abu Hatab, 50, a grave digger with over 19 years of experience, called the Gaza war the most brutal period of his career. The Khan Younis cemetery where he worked before the war had about 60 graves; now it holds 6,000. At times, he had to prepare roughly 35 graves each day. "There has never been such a bloody, brutal period. Not a single day passes without dozens of martyrs being buried," he said.

Many of the deceased are women, children, and infants. Sometimes entire families are brought to the cemetery after an Israeli bomb destroyed a whole building, vehicle, or tent. Tafesh said emotionally: "We destroy their homes over their heads, and from the rubble of those homes, we build graves."