Palestinians say this war is robbing them not only of their loved ones but also of the funeral rites that long have offered mourners some dignity and closure in the midst of unbearable grief. Israeli strikes have killed so many people so quickly that they’ve overwhelmed hospitals and morgues, making the normal rituals of death all but impossible.
Overflowing morgues have compelled hospitals to bury people before their relatives can claim them. Gravediggers have laid dozens of unidentified bodies side by side in two large backhoe-dug furrows in Gaza City now holding 63 and 46 bodies, respectively, said Mohammed Abu Selmia, the general director of Shifa Hospital.
A single stray rocket from within Gaza killed 500 people. Israel has dropped over 10,000 bombs so far. If Israel was trying to commit genocide or intentionally hit civilians the numbers would be astronomical with regards to death toll. It is, of course, terrible that there is 7000+ dead, but a word like genocide has a specific meaning, and to use it in this context takes weight away from the word and therefore marginalizes the term being used for ACTUAL genocides.