In Gaza, a land that has been living under a bloody war since October 2023, heartbreaking stories multiply—stories that are difficult for anyone outside to even imagine—amidst severe psychological and emotional pressure overwhelming the population.

Here, people are fighting for survival, scrambling for a piece of bread, a sip of water, and struggling with the barest means to bury their dead with dignity amidst the destruction and famine, retrieving bodies from the streets to protect them from being scavenged by stray cats and dogs.

The ongoing war has devastated everything. Gaza is subjected to relentless daily bombardment and killings, while famine has reached Phase Five—the most severe stage according to international organizations, making it one of the largest contemporary humanitarian catastrophes.

Trading with Death

Among the stark humanitarian crises that have emerged during this war is a tragic phenomenon: families being unable to retrieve the bodies of their loved ones killed by Israeli bombings, due to the ongoing fierce fighting and the targeting of rescue teams.

Amid this catastrophe, a grim new profession has emerged, imposed by the brutal circumstances. Some young men began offering their services to retrieve bodies from dangerous areas in exchange for large sums of money, taking advantage of the inability of medical crews, civil defense teams, and even the International Committee of the Red Cross to reach these zones.

These young men, operating on the outskirts of border cities and in destroyed areas, charge between 5,000 shekels (approximately $1,380 USD) and 7,000 shekels (about $1,920 USD) to risk their lives retrieving bodies from areas under direct Israeli fire.

The Al-Masri family was among those who found themselves forced to pay a large sum to one of these young men to retrieve the body of their son, martyr Mohammad Al-Masri, who was killed during a heavy Israeli bombardment that targeted northern Rafah while the city was under siege.

Mohammad’s body lay abandoned on the ground for an entire week, scavenged by stray dogs and cats, while rescue teams, the Red Crescent, and even the Red Cross were unable to reach him because of the danger, as the Israeli army was shooting directly at anyone who tried to approach.

After raising the required amount, the young man managed to reach and retrieve the body. However, the shock for the family was immense when they found that their son’s body had been severely mutilated by the stray animals before they were able to bury him according to Islamic rites.

The Abu Odeh Family

Another, even more heartbreaking, story concerns the Abu Odeh family, who lost their son Ahmad in a heavy bombing near the Moraj intersection north of Rafah.

The family would go daily to Salah al-Din Road, near the European Gaza Hospital, begging to be allowed access to the dangerous area to retrieve their son’s body. But each time, they were forced to turn back, fearing death by Israeli fire.

Eventually, the family reached an agreement with one of the young men operating in the area: they would pay him 5,000 shekels only if he succeeded in retrieving the body.

The young man, accompanied by another, set out toward Morag on a donkey-drawn cart. However, they came under heavy gunfire and were forced to flee without completing the mission. True to the agreement, the young man received no payment, but he promised the family he would attempt the mission again to retrieve Ahmad’s body.

The Shahada Family

In a third, even harsher case, the Shahada family in Khan Younis was forced to pay 6,000 shekels to another young man to recover the body of their son, who had been killed in a fierce Israeli airstrike during the Israeli army’s raid on the Hamad City residential area north of Khan Younis in March 2024.

The family recounts that the body lay among the rubble for more than 12 days, exposed to stray dogs, and had begun to decompose. With no other choice, they entered negotiations with the young man who agreed to undertake the dangerous retrieval in exchange for money.

After two failed attempts due to ongoing attacks on the area, the young man finally succeeded in retrieving the remains of the decomposed body under the threat of death. It was then buried in a nearby cemetery, amidst the family’s tears and the deep humiliation felt by both the dead and the living.

The Deliberate Targeting of Rescue Workers

The suffering of Gaza’s people is not limited to the loss of their loved ones; it also extends to those trying to save lives. The Israeli army does not hesitate to target ambulance and civil defense crews, citing that the areas are “dangerous and restricted.”

On March 30, 2024, the Palestinian Red Crescent announced that it had recovered the bodies of 14 rescue workers who were killed while attempting to evacuate the wounded. Israeli forces had targeted clearly marked ambulances, despite their visible insignia and flashing emergency lights.

A video circulating on social media showed ambulances and fire trucks being fired upon, their emergency lights still flashing.

The Israeli army later admitted responsibility for the killings of humanitarian crews, claiming it was a “mistake,”an act that sparked widespread international outrage.

What is happening today in Gaza goes beyond human suffering; it is a full-scale assault on dignity itself. The living must now pay to bury their dead, while the international community continues to issue statements and condemnations, without taking action to stop the massacre in Gaza.