22-07-2025
First thing after the ceasefire? Find the dead, say Gaza's Palestinians
As ceasefire talks continue to make headlines, a sense of cautious hope is spreading among Palestinians in Gaza.
This optimism has sparked a new social media trend, with young people sharing answers to one poignant question: What's the first thing you'll do once a ceasefire happens?
While some replies ranged from 'getting a good sleep' to 'eating meat for the first time,' the majority were unexpectedly sombre.
'I want to go look for [my daughter] Rital at Dar Al-Arqam School,' wrote Doha al-Saifi, a resident of Gaza who lost three of her four children, including her 13-year-old daughter Rital, whose body remains missing.
Saifi was visiting her displaced sister at Dar al-Arqam School, which had been turned into a shelter, in the Tuffah neighbourhood east of Gaza City, when Israeli fighter jets bombed the site on 3 April.
New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch
Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters
'My four-year-old son Osama's head was severed, we didn't find it, so he was buried without it. My other son, Nour, who was 10, was buried whole, thank God. But Rital, we never found her body,' Saifi told Middle East Eye.
'My 21-year-old niece, Rime, is still missing. My sister, whom I was visiting, was killed along with her three daughters. I was seriously wounded in the arm and lost my lower jaw.'
'We are only waiting for it so we can search for our loved ones and retrieve their bodies'
- Doha al-Saifi, Gaza City resident
The attack, which occurred one day after Eid al-Fitr, the holiday marking the end of Ramadan, claimed the lives of at least 31 Palestinians, most of them women and children.
'The first ceasefire was supposed to be a happy ending to all our suffering,' Saifi said.
'But we are only waiting for it so we can search for our loved ones and retrieve their bodies from beneath the rubble.'
Under Saifi's post, dozens of Palestinian echoed the same longing; to search for their loved ones under the rubble and grant them a dignified burial.
Doaa Monir Abu al-Kas commented: 'I want to search for my father's body, may God have mercy on him, at my family's home, destroyed by carpet bombing.'
She continued: 'And I want to visit the graves of my three brothers, Mohammed, Saif al-Din, and Abdullah, along with my cousins on both sides, and our loved ones among our friends and my family's friends.'
In another post, Amna Saleh, a resident of Gaza, wrote: 'I want to visit my brother's grave in the Martyrs' Cemetery [in northern Gaza], which we haven't been able to reach since the very first hour of the war."
While Ahmed Nasser, a digital creator from Gaza, posted: 'If God willing, I will search for the grave of my brother who was martyred during the war.'
Securing the dead
Amid relentless Israeli bombardment and the military's obstruction of search and rescue efforts, thousands of Palestinians across the devastated Gaza Strip have been reported missing since 7 October 2023.
According to the United Nations and human rights organisations, an estimated 10,000 to 11,000 Palestinians are missing, most presumed dead under the rubble.
'People in Gaza have forgotten what joy feels like, there is simply no space left for happiness or relief after all the suffering we endure'
- Abed Aboriash, Palestinian journalist
This has left thousands of parents, spouses, and children unable to confirm the fate of their loved ones, trapped in a limbo they believe can only end once a ceasefire is reached and search teams are permitted to operate.
But even those who have managed to bury their loved ones remain constantly worried, as intense Israeli attacks on cemeteries leave families in constant fear that graves may be desecrated or destroyed.
Joining the social media trend, Palestinian journalist Abed Aboriash posted: 'What's the first thing you'll do once a ceasefire happens? For me, I want to move my father's grave, may God have mercy on him, from the south to the north... What about you?'
Originally from Beit Lahia in northern Gaza, Abd al-Hakim Abu Riash was displaced with his family to several locations, including Rafah and Khan Younis in southern Gaza.
Amid worsening displacement conditions and lack of adequate medical care, his elderly father passed away in their makeshift tent in Khan Younis on 14 September 2024.
Prevented by the Israeli military from returning to northern Gaza, the family was forced to bury him in a newly established makeshift cemetery near Nasser Hospital.
'The cemetery was bulldozed by the Israeli occupation army. Whenever there is an attack [there], we go to the cemetery to rebuild the grave,' Aboriash told MEE.
I was buried alive beneath the rubble and awoke in a 'graveyard' Read More »
'As soon as the ceasefire happens, I will move my father's body to the Beit Lahia cemetery, where he was born in northern Gaza.'
Aboriash added that a ceasefire will not be a moment of celebration, but rather the beginning of heavier responsibilities, ones that Palestinians are currently unable to carry out.
'The life of a Palestinian living in Gaza City under the ongoing genocide has become so limited that all thoughts now revolve solely around finding food and water,' he explained.
'People in Gaza have forgotten what joy feels like, there is simply no space left for happiness or relief after all the suffering we endure.'
Earlier this month, indirect talks between Israel and Hamas intensified in Doha. While negotiations are ongoing, there are still no clear signs that a deal is imminent.
In the meantime, Israel has intensified its bombardment across the Gaza Strip, killing scores of people each day.
The months-long blockade remains in place, worsening widespread starvation that has claimed the lives of at least 20 people in just two days.
Excluding the missing, Israeli forces have killed over 59,000 Palestinian since October 2023, including at least 17,000 children.
