'I can't sleep': Gaza gravedigger says he is burying 200 to 300 martyrs every week
As the death toll in the Israeli genocidal war on Gaza surpasses 40,000, Saad Hassan Baraka, who oversees the main cemetery in Deir al-Balah, says he has buried nearly 19,000 martyrs since October 7, 2023.
Baraka, a gravedigger at Al-Soueid cemetery—one of the largest in central Gaza—has been in this role for over 28 years. He says he has never seen such widespread death and destruction in his entire life.
The 63-year-old has been burying between 200 and 300 martyrs each week, compared to fewer than five before the Israeli military launched its genocidal war on the besieged territory in October 2023.
“Before the war, we had one or two funerals a week, with a maximum of five,” he was quoted as saying by media. “Now, there are weeks when I bury 200 to 300 people. It's unbelievable.”
The cemetery he now oversees is so overcrowded that he has been forced to dig graves on top of existing ones. There is no break or pause in burials that take place at the cemetery.
“In all the wars in Gaza, I have never seen anything like this,” Baraka noted.
Previously, Baraka also managed the Ansar cemetery, another large burial ground in central Gaza, but that cemetery is now full, with no more space available for more burials.
The Israeli-American genocidal war on the besieged Gaza Strip has entered its 316th day, with the number of fatalities reported to be over 40,050, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
However, independent human rights groups suggest that the actual death toll may be much higher, as thousands of people, including children and women, remain trapped under rubble and unaccounted for.
Baraka’s words underscore the gravity of the situation, as he has been burying people without respite for almost 11 months now—most of them innocent civilians, including children and women.
“I buried the Tabatibi family: 47 women and 16 of them were pregnant... I don't know how to sleep after seeing dismembered children and women,” he was quoted as saying.
He emphasized that it is not about Ismail Haniyeh or Yahya Sinwar, the former and current leaders of the Hamas resistance movement, but that the Tel Aviv regime is intent on “eliminating the Palestinian people entirely.”
“I work from 6 AM to 6 PM every day. I have only buried two or three Hamas members. All the rest were children, women, and the elderly,” Baraka remarked.
Saadi Hassan Baraka (top right) at Al-Soueid cemetery along with his worker. (AFP)
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