According to the ministry's statement, Israeli forces entered the cemetery at dawn on Thursday, demolished graves with bulldozers, exhumed bodies, and removed the remains of martyrs and ordinary deceased individuals.

　　In July 2025, the Gaza Endowments Ministry, which manages religious sites and cemeteries in the Palestinian Gaza Strip, strongly condemned the Israeli military for digging up graves and removing bodies in the southern city of Khan Younis.

　　According to the ministry's statement, Israeli forces entered the cemetery at dawn on Thursday, using bulldozers to destroy graves and exhume bodies, removing the remains of martyrs and ordinary deceased. The statement condemned this act as a “horrific crime” and “a blatant violation of religious and humanitarian values and norms.” It further condemned these actions as exceeding the minimum standards of human ethics and international values, calling them “barbaric acts that trample on the dignity and sanctity of the dead.”

　　The ministry also claims that the Israeli military is systematically destroying cemeteries in the Gaza Strip under various “pretexts.” It states that while there are approximately 60 cemeteries in Gaza, 40 of them have been deliberately destroyed.

　　This incident is one of many reported during the ongoing fighting in Gaza since October 2023. Israeli military attacks have reportedly killed approximately 57,800 Palestinians to date, many of whom are women and children. Ongoing airstrikes and military operations have inflicted severe damage on Gaza's cities and infrastructure, drastically worsening living conditions for residents. Food shortages have also intensified, with some areas reportedly nearing famine conditions.

　　Amid these circumstances, the destruction of cemeteries and the handling of remains have drawn strong criticism from the perspectives of humanitarian norms in war and religious values, further heightening regional tensions and international concern.