Khaled Barakah, a grieving Palestinian father, holds no resentment towards his relatives or friends for not offering condolences after the martyrdom of his two sons. Amid the harrowing Israeli genocide on Gaza, which has uprooted and impoverished countless lives, the very fabric of social customs has unravelled. In Gaza, mourning ceremonies have disappeared, overwhelmed by an unrelenting death toll. For 463 days, the Israeli assault has claimed lives hourly, leaving no space for traditional expressions of grief. "Who in Gaza hasn’t lost something?" Khaled asks, his voice heavy with sorrow, as he reflects on the shared anguish of families mourning sons and loved ones.

The need for support during such heart-breaking times has been overshadowed by the brutal realities of war. Families are displaced, mourning houses are gone, and neighbourhoods lie in ruins. The destruction wrought by the Israeli occupation has rendered condolence gatherings impossible. Khaled lost his first son, Suleiman, nine months ago when an Israeli drone targeted him as he cycled home in Abasan al-Jadida, east of Khan Younis. Two months ago, his second son was killed in an airstrike while working as a driver. These unbearable tragedies are just two of the countless stories of loss across Gaza.

Amani Al-Qahouji, 25, recounts how the shock of her father’s martyrdom eclipsed any thoughts of traditional mourning. "We didn’t blame anyone because of the war, but it’s felt like a nightmare since our father became a martyr," she explains. When her father was killed by the Israeli occupation in January of the previous year, displacement kept the family apart. “My father was deeply loved,” Amani recalls. “If we’d been in our home, surrounded by loved ones, the house would have been full of people offering their condolences. But we were displaced in schools. He was buried, and his funeral was over in the blink of an eye.”

The Ministry of Health reports that over 46,000 Palestinians have been killed, and 109,378 injured since the Israeli assault on Gaza began in October 2023. Of the victims, 72% are women and children, underscoring the indiscriminate nature of the attacks. For many, mourning remains on hold. Thousands of families have yet to bury their loved ones, with over 10,000 people trapped beneath the rubble of bombed buildings or missing entirely. The uncertainty surrounding the fate of these loved ones deepens the collective grief.

As the genocide continues unabated, Gaza’s residents cling to hope for an end to the aggression. Meanwhile, "Israel" persists with its relentless bombardment, ignoring United Nations Security Council resolutions and International Court of Justice orders to cease its invasion and prevent further atrocities. The people of Gaza endure this tragedy with remarkable resilience, their pain and suffering a testament to the human cost of a conflict that demands an immediate end.