Mourners in Rafah gather for a funeral of 10 people including children, killed in Israeli strikes

(23 Feb 2024) RESTRICTIONS SUMMARY: CLIENTS PELASE NOTE: EDIT CONTAINS IMAGES OF DEAD CHILDREN ASSOCIATED PRESS Rafah, Gaza Strip - 23 February 2024 1. Various of people gathering near bodies lying on the ground at Al-Najjar hospital 2. Man sitting next to the body of his relative who was killed in Israeli airstrike 3. Various of people carrying the bodies 4. Various of man carrying body of killed girl, placing in vehicle 5. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Fedaa Ashour, her sister killed in airstrike: “At 1:30 they struck their home. The house was full of children and there is not even one person who is wanted and no one from whom what they (Israelis) call targets. There was no target unless the children are targets. There were only little innocent children who had been shouting every day that they want this war to end. What is happening here is that people are filming so that the world sees but the world does not feel what we are going through.“ 6. Close of woman crying 7. Various of people carrying the bodies and walking towards graves 8. Man carrying body of killed girl near the grave 9. People gathering near the graves 10. Various of people burying the bodies 11. People gathering near the graves STORYLINE: Dozens of people in the Gaza Strip attended a mass funeral in the southern city of Rafah on Friday for 10 people, including children who were killed in Israeli airstrikes. Special Muslim prayers were held before the bodies were taken to a nearby cemetery for burial. One after another, the bodies draped in white and black cloth were laid to rest inside a grave. Israeli officials have been saying that they will launch a ground offensive on Rafah along the border with Egypt. Over the past weeks, airstrikes have killed dozens in the city. More than half of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million is crowded into Rafah after fleeing fighting elsewhere in the territory. Israel has said it will evacuate them before attacking the city. But it is not clear where they would go, with much of the rest of the tiny Mediterranean enclave consumed in combat. Israel declared war after Hamas militants stormed across the border on October 7, killing some 1,200 people and taking 250 others hostage. The Israeli offensive has left over 29,000 Palestinians dead, caused widespread destruction, displaced an estimated 80% of Gaza’s population and fueled a humanitarian disaster. AP video shot by Mohammad Jahjouh, produced by Wafaa Shurafa =========================================================== Clients are reminded to adhere to all listed restrictions and to check the terms of their licence agreements. For further assistance, please contact the AP Archive on: Tel 44(0)2074827482 Email: info@. Find out more about AP Archive: Twitter: Facebook: ​​ Instagram: You can license this story through AP Archive: