Tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians who lack shelter or a home to return to after Israel destroyed their residences across Gaza are pitching tents in graveyards as a last resort, as the humanitarian catastrophe in the enclave remains acute despite a fragile ceasefire deal.
“This graveyard wasn’t meant for the living,” Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary said, reporting from the southern city of Khan Younis. “But today, it’s home to dozens of families who have nowhere else to go.”
Khoudary said Palestinians were camping at the site “not because they want to, but because it’s the last free space available”.
“Graveyards have become shelters not out of choice, but out of desperation,” she added.
Rami Musleh, a father of 12 who was displaced from the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoon, could not find any viable option other than the graveyard.
“For parents, the emotional toll is heavy. The psychological trauma of war is made worse by having to raise children among tombstones,” Musleh told Al Jazeera.
With no safe shelter left and no land to return to, many families in Gaza are now pitching tents inside graveyards [Screen grab/Al Jazeera]
Another resident, Sabah Muhammed, said the cemeteries have now lost all their sacredness.
“Graveyards, once sacred spaces for the dead, are now silent witnesses to a living crisis. No water, no electricity, and no privacy … only the bare minimum to survive,” she told Al Jazeera.
“In Gaza, even the land for the dead is now the only refuge for the living.”
According to the United Nations, at least 1.9 million people – or about 90 percent of the population – across the Gaza Strip have been displaced during the war. Many have been displaced repeatedly, some 10 times or more.
Palestinians in southern Gaza are squeezed into overcrowded shelters as Israel issued forced orders for residents of northern Gaza and Gaza City to evacuate and then bombarded many as they fled south.
The price of renting even a square metre of land to pitch a tent is prohibitive for many displaced Palestinians, who lack a stable income and are dependent on scarce humanitarian assistance.
UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinians, said 61 million tonnes of debris now cover Gaza and entire neighbourhoods have been erased. It said families were searching the ruins for shelter and water.
While a fragile ceasefire has been in effect since October 10, Israel is continuing to heavily restrict humanitarian aid into Gaza. The International Court of Justice on Wednesday ruled Israel must allow aid into Gaza, stating it cannot use starvation “as a method of warfare”.
Aid is mainly being channelled into the central and southern parts of the Gaza Strip through the Karem Abu Salem (Kerem Shalom) crossing, while none of the crossings in the north have been opened.
