Families of Canadian soldiers buried in Gaza are demanding increased government intervention to safeguard their relatives’ final resting places. They are advocating for the repatriation of the soldiers interred in the Gaza War Cemetery due to repeated damages caused by the Israel Defense Forces.
The Gaza War Cemetery in Gaza City’s Tuffah district houses the remains of 22 Canadian soldiers who lost their lives during the UN’s peacekeeping mission following the 1956 Israeli invasion of Egypt. Aerial images analyzed by CBC’s visual investigations team reveal extensive destruction inflicted by the IDF, including the destruction of headstones, excavation activities, and detonation of explosives within the Canadian peacekeeper plot.
Relatives of soldiers buried in the cemetery, such as the sisters of Paul Picard and Adriaan Bons, expressed distress over the desecration of the burial site. Lia Bons described the devastation of seeing the cemetery reduced to rubble, expressing relief that her parents did not witness the destruction of their son’s grave.
Marguerite Picard expressed her desire to rebury her brother alongside their parents, emphasizing the wish to honor his memory in a proper setting. The IDF, in response to inquiries, stated that their actions were part of an operation to destroy a tunnel beneath the cemetery, without taking precautions to protect the soldiers’ remains.
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission, responsible for managing the cemetery, has not been able to assess the extent of the damage due to restricted access. Recent satellite images indicate further destruction at the site, prompting concerns from Canadian officials and Global Affairs Canada regarding the preservation of historical and memorial sites dedicated to servicemen.
Efforts to address the situation are ongoing, with calls for respectful treatment of the cemetery and the soldiers’ graves resonating among stakeholders. The families of the fallen soldiers seek justice and the restoration of dignity to the sacred resting place of their loved ones.