The humanitarian situation in Gaza continues to worsen, with the horrifying toll of 40,000 dead according to health officials in the territory. It is a true tragedy that is unfolding in this small, densely populated strip of land, where the bodies of the deceased are piled up.
In accordance with Islamic tradition, the victims of war are considered ritually pure, which means that their bodies do not need to be washed. Workers wrap the damaged remains in plastic to prevent blood stains on their white shrouds.
Families gather to pray in the courtyard of the health unit, where the bodies wrapped in white by al-Zuriei and his colleagues are laid out side by side before being transported to the cemetery.
After 11 months of bitter conflict between Israel and Hamas, talks are underway to reach a ceasefire. The offensive has left a trail of destruction across the territory and forced the vast majority of Gaza’s 2.3 million people to flee their homes, often multiple times.
Diplomats hope that the events will prompt Iran and Lebanon’s Hezbollah to delay retaliation following the killing of a senior Hezbollah commander in an Israeli strike in Beirut and Hamas’s top political leader in an explosion in Tehran.
Repeated evacuation orders and military operations have pushed hundreds of thousands of people into a so-called “humanitarian zone” along the coast, where they live in crowded tent camps without basic services.
Aid agencies are struggling to distribute food and supplies, prompting warnings of imminent famine. The precarious situation in Gaza calls for a swift and effective response from the international community to alleviate the suffering of the population and work toward peace in the region.