Palestinian buries husband alone after two months trapped under Israeli siege

In a garden in southern Gaza under Israeli attacks, Aziza Qishta dug a grave with her bare hands. 

With no shroud, the 65-year-old Palestinian wrapped her husband’s body in a window curtain and buried him alone. 

Ibrahim Qishta, 70, had died after being struck in the neck by shrapnel during Israel’s military incursion into Rafah earlier this year. 

For two months, the couple remained trapped in their home in Khirbet al-Adas, surviving off dwindling supplies as air strikes and shelling pounded the city. 

When neighbours fled, Ibrahim refused to be displaced, and his wife refused to leave him behind. 

Since Israel broke the Gaza ceasefire in March, the army has killed nearly 4,000 Palestinians, bringing the death toll since October 2023 to over 54,000. 

In the following account, Aziza tells her story to the Middle East Eye. 

Read more: ‘No voices, no light’: Palestinian buries husband alone after two months trapped under Israeli siege