Gaza Families Seek Shelter in Cemetery, Reports Reuters

By Mohammed Salem

RAFAH – Displaced repeatedly by Israel’s military actions in Gaza, Mahmoud Amer and his family have set up camp near gravestones in a cemetery in Rafah, seeking what they hope is a safer refuge in the devastated region.

The cemetery has become a temporary sanctuary for many displaced families, offering a view of the Mediterranean Sea and a sense of security from ongoing bombings. “People have had no choice but to come here to this place of safety, which is surrounded by the dead,” Amer, originally from the Al-Shati refugee camp in northern Gaza, said, accompanied by 11 family members, including children and grandchildren.

He remarked, “It’s preferable to living in residential areas where buildings might collapse on us.” As they have fled southward from northern Gaza due to the escalation of military actions, the family has taken shelter in various locations before arriving at the cemetery.

Currently, over half of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents find themselves crowded into Rafah, located at the southern edge of the enclave, neighboring the border with Egypt. Israel has warned of a military offensive in the area once it concludes its operations in the nearby Khan Younis.

The cemetery contains orderly rows of low cement graves, some adorned with plants and flowers, while others serve as makeshift burial sites for recent casualties of the conflict—simple mounds of sand marked by crude blocks of cement.

“Daily, we lay to rest the deceased. We pray for them and seek mercy for their souls,” Amer shared. He expressed the profound struggles faced by those still alive: a devastating lack of food and water, coupled with the constant anxiety of military strikes. “The deceased are at peace, but we, the living, endure great suffering and harsh conditions. There is no water, no adequate aid—it’s dire,” he lamented.

Children could be seen playing in small groups among the graves. One girl dressed in a pink tracksuit sat on a grave, gathering small pink flowers and placing them in an empty tin can. “I witness our children playing among the gravestones,” Amer remarked, noting the grim reality they face. “Our existence now revolves around death. Even while moving about, death is constantly before us.”

This conflict ignited when militants from Hamas launched an incursion into southern Israel on October 7, leading to the deaths of 1,200 individuals and the abduction of 253, according to Israeli officials. In response to what it deemed an existential threat, Israel declared its intention to eliminate Hamas and has launched an extensive military campaign in Gaza, resulting in over 27,000 casualties as reported by local health authorities.