The legal principle to treat the dead with dignity is being violated in war-torn Gaza. This is not just a breach of law: denying Gazans this final dignity endangers human values everywhere.
International Humanitarian Law upholds both the right to identification and the right to a dignified burial, recognising them as fundamental principles even in times of conflict. In Gaza, the relentless death toll and the scale of devastation and destruction mean it is almost impossible for Gazans to identify their dead and bury them with dignity.
Identification
In Gaza, rescue workers are responsible for transferring the dead to a hospital where, once identified, the data on that person is recorded and communicated to the health ministry. However, several factors can seriously hamper the process of identifying and registering the deceased. Apart from the constant power cuts, many hospitals have been attacked by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF), including Al-Shifa hospital on 10 November 2023, which operated the main health data centre. Just when its system had been reinstalled in March 2024, it was attacked again. Another complicating factor is that many bodies remain unidentified, even those brought to a hospital. Within a few weeks of the war unfolding, Gazans were being forced to come up with ‘solutions’.
People write their names on their arms so that if they die, they can be easily identified. Children, too, are inscribing their names on their arms and legs. Sadly, this is not just an innocent game. Losing your children is one thing, not knowing their fate and never being able to bury them is an even deeper, devastating kind of grief. Raja, a mother of two, was not satisfied with the idea of writing her children’s names on their hands, explaining that limbs are often amputated due to bombing and are difficult to find. So, she wrote the names of her children on their stomachs. But even this ‘solution’ doesn’t always work. On 15 March 2025, four children were burned to death after the bombing of a tent in the Mawasi area of Khan Yunis. With their flesh mixed together, the father gathered their remains in a single shroud and buried them together. He had no choice but to deviate from the Islamic rule that all bodies should have a separate grave.
This principle is also upheld in International Humanitarian Law (IHL): to facilitate identification and mourning, mass graves are to be avoided. But what meaning does this IHL principle carry when rescue workers, those tasked with ensuring the dignified treatment of the dead, disappear themselves? The 15 rescue workers whose bodies disappeared near Rafah in the early morning of 23 March 2025, were buried in a mass grave, along with their vehicles. They eventually escaped anonymity in death and were buried following Islamic funeral rites. But what about the fate of so many others? How are they buried?
Burial
Before the war, funerals had their own rituals and solemnities, drawing dozens or even hundreds of participants, who prayed for the deceased before carrying them to the cemetery for burial. The mourning period lasted three days, providing an opportunity to console the bereaved. Now, with so many lives being lost, few remain to pray for their loved ones. And with 90 percent of the population constantly being displaced, there is often no time for a proper burial, let alone time to observe the traditional three-day condolence period. Instead, bodies are left exposed to the elements and stray dogs.
Even for victims who have been identified and buried, grave rest is not guaranteed, never mind eternal rest (an important requirement in Islam). Apart from cemeteries being damaged or destroyed by the war, there have also been reports of deliberate desecration, including the dismemberment of dead bodies and the intentional destruction of burial sites (a direct violation of IHL). The IDF’s creation of military buffer zones within one kilometre of the border between Gaza and Israel has led to the destruction of more buildings, including cemeteries. So, as Gaza’s territory shrinks, this means further shortages of space for burials.
Symbolic immortality
The tragedy of identifying and burying the dead has become a daily reality for many Gazans, to the point that many have adapted to a reality that others would find too overwhelming to accept. This is not just a question of ensuring the application of law in practice. It is about human dignity and the realisation that if Gazans stand to lose it, we all stand to lose it. Amid all the rubble, Gazans have no choice but to be patient. However, the ink on their bodies – marking their names – fades quickly. This makes identification difficult. Still, Gazans have developed their own philosophy, based on the duality of the will to live and the idea of immortality – believing that a strong, determined will can leave a lasting mark on the world.