After being displaced repeatedly due to the Israeli military assault on Gaza, Mahmoud Amer and his family set up their tent near gravestones in a cemetery in Rafah, which has become the last relatively safe place in the shell-shocked region. Amer's family is among dozens of others camping in the cemetery overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, believing that their presence there will make them less vulnerable to Israeli airstrikes.
Amer, a displaced individual from the Beach Camp for refugees in northern Gaza, along with 11 members of his family including children and grandchildren, stated, "The people have been forced to come to this area. It's better to be in the cemetery among the dead than in residential areas where the walls are collapsing and houses are falling on us. It’s all a result of the fear and terror that made us come to stay with the dead."
More than half of Gaza's 2.3 million residents are now trapped in Rafah at the southern edge of the enclave next to the fence separating it from Egypt. Israel has threatened to invade the area with tanks after concluding a battle in Khan Younis.
The cemetery contains rows of low concrete graves, some of which date back to before the war, surrounded by vegetation and flowers adorned with carvings eroded by the elements. It also includes other makeshift graves for war casualties, which are simply mounds of sand the length of the bodies, with concrete markers at each end.
Amer commented, "Every day the dead come here and we pray for them, we are present with them, and we invoke mercy upon them. Our whole life has turned into death, to the extent that when one is walking down the road on an errand, death appears before their eyes every second; our lives have become entirely about death." He continued, "The lack of food and water and the constant fear of military strikes is terrifying."
He added, "Honestly, the situation is very dire. We are living in torment and pain while the dead are resting next to us. The dead are at peace, and we, the living, are suffering and enduring very harsh conditions with no water or aid for humans. The situation is extremely bad." He further expressed, “I envy the dead for their life; they are dead, but with God, they are alive and provided for. I truly envy them because they are better off than us right now. Every minute we experience horror, pain, and suffering, and we don't know how to end these wars. It’s an extremely painful situation."
Children were seen running in small groups between the rows of graves. A little girl was squatting on one of the graves, carefully picking small flowers and placing them in an empty box. Amer lamented, "I see our children playing around the graves and on the graves... It’s as if feelings have died; even the feelings of the children are starting to fade. What about the feelings of the adults, the elderly, the youth, and all the people, the Palestinian world?"
The war erupted following an attack by militants from Hamas on Israeli towns on October 7, which resulted in the deaths of 1,200 people and the abduction of 253, according to Israeli figures. Israel vowed to eliminate Hamas and free the hostages, responding with a comprehensive military assault on Gaza that has led to the deaths of over 27,000 people, according to health officials in the Palestinian coastal enclave.
