Cooperation between Christians and Muslims is not uncommon in Gaza.
Fearing the dangerous path to Gaza’s cemeteries, Palestinian Christians are burying their loved ones in Muslim cemeteries amid the chaos of the war between Israel and Hamas.
“I have been working in this cemetery for almost 10 years and this is the first time in my life,” said Ihsan al-Natour, a worker at Thar Sultan Cemetery. “It is in a grave, A child looks on.
“I have never seen a Christian buried in a Muslim grave, but because of this war we have no choice but to bury him here.”
Israeli bombings have killed more than 33,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians, since the war began six months ago, according to Gaza’s health ministry. Some people lost their entire families.
Much of the coastal enclave has been reduced to wasteland, with buildings reduced to rubble and dust. Severely damaged hospitals were unable to cope with the casualties, while hunger and possible famine compounded the suffering.
Driving along roads that may have been bombed or shelled only adds to the suffering of those trying to bury their dead. Israel has not yet allowed residents of northern Gaza, where the Christian cemetery is located, to return to their homes.
Al-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 during the siege. They didn’t get to say a proper goodbye to him.
“So we buried him in Thar Sultan Cemetery. We do not discriminate between Muslims or Christians here. He was buried among Muslims without any indication that he was a Christian,” he said.
Cooperation between Christians and Muslims is not uncommon in Gaza.
“I have to take care of him because he is a Christian. We have to protect God’s creation on earth,” Nutour said.
“He is a human being and we respect humanity and appreciate humanity and we love every human being on this planet. It is not in our nature as Muslims to hate humanity.”
The war broke out on October 7 when Hamas gunmen stormed into Israel from Gaza, killing 1,200 people, triggering an Israeli attack, according to official Israeli figures.
As the Palestinian death toll rises every day, the cemetery may be able to accommodate even more people.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
