Dozens of temporary graves have been dug in a cemetery in southern Lebanon, serving as the final resting place for Hezbollah fighters and civilians displaced by ongoing conflict, as families are unable to return to their border villages.
In Haret Saida, a suburb of Sidon, makeshift graves with cement blocks and construction board coffins are situated in a section adjacent to the main cemetery. Among those buried is Mohammed Tufayli, a Hezbollah fighter killed in an Israeli strike, whose mother, Ghada Hussein, mourned his loss while holding his photographs.
Hussein, who is from Kfar Tibnit near the Israeli border, expressed her grief and determination to return her son's body to their destroyed village once it is safe. "My dearest person has gone... I did everything to raise him," she stated, her voice filled with pain.
Lebanese authorities report that over 3,700 people have been killed since the conflict escalated on March 2, with the militant group confirming many of the casualties were its fighters. The war has also displaced more than one million people, with accusations leveled against Israeli troops for razing border towns and villages. Hassan Saleh, responsible for burials at the Haret Saida cemetery, confirmed that approximately 120 people have been temporarily buried there since March, including first responders and unarmed civilians.
The practice of temporary burial is a provision within Shia Muslim rites, allowing for interment when circumstances prevent a proper funeral or burial at a chosen site. Such temporary burial sites have also been established in Tyre and on the outskirts of Beirut. The ongoing Israeli aerial presence is cited as a major obstacle preventing families from burying their relatives in their home villages, further necessitating these temporary arrangements.
