This Remembrance Day, the Gaza War Cemetery – where nearly two dozen Canadians are buried – is closed to visitors as the Israel-Hamas war enters its sixth week.
So are all other cemeteries and memorials in the Palestinian territories and Israel maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission , which has been taking care of monuments around the world for more than a century.
The extent of the damage to the cemetery located in Gaza City is unclear. The commission said that it’s"currently not in a position to comment" further on the matter. The commission, which receives annual funding from Canada and other member countries, maintains war gravesites – including graves of several hundred Canadian veterans buried abroad after the Second World War – at approximately 23,000 locations in 150 countries.
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission's website describes the Gaza cemetery as an"oasis of calm," tended to by generations of one family, along with other dedicated staff. It also details past efforts to fix the damage to the site caused by previous outbreaks of violence. Some of those personnel are buried in war cemeteries in Iraq, where"the current climate of political instability" has made it"extremely challenging" for the war graves commission to do its work, a message on its website says. A"major rehabilitation project" is planned once the political climate has improved there.
In the email to The Canadian Press, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission noted that its sites experience"serious and complex damage" not just from conflict, but from various environmental conditions as well – such as an eroded seawall at a cemetery in Sierra Leone.
Remembrance Day Gaza War Cemetery Israel-Hamas War Commonwealth War Graves Commission Palestinian Territories Israel
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