Too frightened to travel on dangerous roads that lead to their graveyards in Gaza, Palestinian Christians are lowering their loved ones into the ground in Muslim cemeteries amid the chaos of war between Israel and Hamas.
\n\u201cI\u2019ve been working at this cemetery for almost 10 years and this is the first time in my life,\u201d said Ihsan al-Natour, a worker at the Tal al-Sultan cemetery, where a man picked up a shrouded body and placed it inside a grave as a small child watched.
\n\u201cNever have I seen a Christian being buried in a Muslim grave, but because of this war, we had no choice but to bury him here.\u201d
\nSince the war broke out six months ago, Israel bombardments have killed more than 33,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to figures from the Gaza health ministry. Some people have lost entire families.
\nMuch of the coastal enclave has been turned into a wasteland, with buildings reduced to rubble and dust. Badly damaged hospitals cannot cope with the casualties, while hunger and possible famine add to the misery.
\nTravel along roads that could get bombed or shelled only increases the anguish for people trying to bury their dead. Israel has yet to allow residents of northern Gaza, where the Christian cemetery is located, to return home.
\nAl-Natour said Tal al-Sultan cemetery received the body of a Christian man named Hani Suheil Abu Dawood because it was too dangerous for his family to travel amid the siege. They were unable to say goodbye to him properly.
\n\u201cSo we\u2019ve buried him here at the Tal al-Sultan cemetery. We don\u2019t discriminate between Muslims or Christians here. He\u2019s buried amongst Muslims and there are no signs that indicate he is Christian,\u201d he said.
\nCooperation between Christians and Muslims is not unusual in Gaza.
\n\u201cI have to take care of him because he is Christian. We have to protect God\u2019s creations on this earth,\u201d said al-Natour.
\n\u201cHe is a human being, we respect human beings and appreciate humanity and we love every person on earth. It is not in our nature as Muslims to hate humanity.\u201d
\nThe war erupted on Oct. 7 when Hamas gunmen burst into Israel from Gaza and killed 1,200 people, according to official Israeli figures, triggering the Israeli assault.
\nThe cemetery is likely to receive many more people as the Palestinian death toll rises everyday.
\n(Reuters)burial. Christian burial, Muslim cemetery, war<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Palestinian Christians in Gaza are burying their loved ones in Muslim cemeteries due to the dangers of traveling to their own graveyards amid the war between Israel and Hamas. The Tal al-Sultan cemetery received the body of a Christian man named Hani Suheil Abu Dawood because it was too risky for his family to travel. Cooperation between Christians and Muslims is common in Gaza, with a worker at the cemetery emphasizing the importance of respecting and protecting all human beings regardless of religion. The war has led to widespread destruction in Gaza, with many lives lost and families devastated.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":7469,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"Default","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1521,1943,924,3722,5688,5334,3475,2692,3194,1027,5596,2459,1978,145,5326,4171,3092,298,5139,210,2581,2476,2496,299,387,1394,5689,1193,345,462,1144,453,1182,293,18],"class_list":["post-7468","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-other","tag-1521","tag-assault","tag-buildings","tag-casualties","tag-christian-burial","tag-civilians","tag-cooperation","tag-death","tag-destruction","tag-dust","tag-families","tag-family","tag-famine","tag-gaza","tag-gaza-health-ministry","tag-gaza-war","tag-gunmen","tag-hamas","tag-hamas-gunmen","tag-health","tag-health-ministry","tag-hospitals","tag-hunger","tag-israel","tag-lost","tag-man","tag-muslim-cemetery","tag-nature","tag-palestine","tag-palestinians","tag-religion","tag-roads","tag-travel","tag-war","tag-world"],"acf":{"keyphrase":"","keywords":"","sourceimg":"","country-category":""},"yoast_head":"\n