Infant twins, Wesam and Naeem Abu Anza, were buried in Rafah on Sunday, just weeks after being born during the Gaza conflict.
They were among 14 family members killed by an Israeli airstrike overnight, according to Gaza health officials. At the funeral, their mother, Rania Abu Anza, cradled one twin's shrouded body, lamenting the loss of her first children after 11 years of marriage and questioning the reason for their deaths. The twins perished along with three other children in an attack on a house.
The war, which started on October 7th with a Hamas incursion into Israel, has led to over 30,000 deaths in Gaza and widespread devastation, as per local health ministry figures.
As relatives mourned, the Abu Anza victims were placed in black body bags, their grief accentuated by the sight of a child in pajamas among the casualties.
Rania Abu Anza had hoped for peace before the upcoming Ramadan, echoing a sentiment shared by US President
Joe Biden, who hopes for a ceasefire by the holy month commencing around March 10th. The mourning mother is left wondering how she will manage to live after such a tragic loss.