The damaged Gaza War Cemetery highlights ongoing risk to soldier graves in conflict zones
- Written by: Nicole Townsend, Lecturer in War Studies, UNSW Sydney
Nearly two years after the Australian government was first notified[1] that war graves in Gaza and surrounding areas had been damaged as a result of conflict, new evidence has confirmed the extent of destruction.
In a recent update, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission – the intergovernmental body responsible for commemorating all Commonwealth war dead from the two world wars – has confirmed[2] damage to both the Gaza War Cemetery and Deir El Balah War Cemetery is “extensive”.
And a recent Guardian report[3] outlined new evidence indicating the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) “bulldozed” graves in the Gaza War Cemetery’s southern corner.
This includes the graves of Australian and British personnel who died in the two world wars. It has been reported that the graves of up to two dozen New Zealanders[4] are also affected, along with Canadians[5] killed during peacekeeping operations in the 1950s and ‘60s. Reports indicate[6] that Indian plots have also been heavily damaged.
The Guardian reported that:
After being shown satellite images of the cemetery, the Israel Defence Forces said that it had been forced to take defensive measures during military operations.
“At the relevant time, the area in question was an active combat zone,” an army spokesperson said.
More broadly, the fate of these sites highlights the continued risk to war graves in modern conflict zones.
Anzacs in Gaza
The Gaza War Cemetery contains more than 3,400[7] Commonwealth burials.
The news that more than 250 Australians are interred in Gaza may surprise[8] some Australians.
Yet, Australians have a long history of military service in the region, from the world wars to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
As part of British efforts to push Ottoman Turkish forces out of Palestine, for instance, Australian mounted troops (cavalry) fought in three major battles[9] in Gaza between March and November 1917.
The second battle was particularly costly. In three days, the British suffered more than 6,000[10] casualties, 500 of whom were killed, including more than 100 Australians. These Australians were buried[11] across the two cemeteries in what is now the Gaza Strip.
Australian forces later returned to the Middle East in the second world war.
While Gaza was not the site of fighting this time around, it was the location of the Australian theatre headquarters, which oversaw Australian operations in the region. It was also home to several hospital units.
This means many of the Australians buried in the area’s two war cemeteries died because of accident, injury or illness, not in battle.
Among the burials at Gaza War Cemetery[13] are 23 New Zealanders. A further 13 New Zealanders are interred at Deir El Belah War Cemetery.
A broader challenge
The destruction of war graves in Gaza has rightly received global attention. But this isn’t the first time Australian and Commonwealth war dead have been dragged into contemporary conflicts.
If we look first at Gaza, the two war cemeteries were damaged in both 2006[15] and 2009[16] amid fighting in the area.
The damage caused by the 2006 operations saw the Israeli government financially compensate[17] the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
But this issue is not unique to Gaza, nor to the Middle East. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission cares[18] for more than 1.1 million separate graves across more than 23,000 locations, in 150 countries and territories.
Some of these are in active conflict zones, or otherwise volatile areas. This includes sites in Libya, Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Iran, Yemen, Sudan and Somalia. Each of these is classed as a “challenging location[19]”. Access is often restricted or prohibited, and many sites are at risk of damage through fighting or vandalism.
For instance, Iraq’s Habbaniya War Cemetery[20], where three Australian airmen are interred, was “severely damaged” during the two Gulf wars. Only in 2020[21] could the Commonwealth War Graves Commission finish reconstruction of the cemetery.
In 2012, war cemeteries at Benghazi in eastern Libya were desecrated twice[22]. This included hundreds of plots, with 50 Australian headstones damaged in one incident.
Further east, Yemen’s Maala Cemetery[23] was damaged during fighting between 2014 and 2015. Located in a particularly dangerous area, the cemetery – where 11 Australians are buried – remains off-limits and mostly destroyed[24].
In other instances, the danger is so great that locations are used to commemorate casualties interred elsewhere. An example is the Mogadishu African War Cemetery in Somalia, where political instability forced[25] the Commonwealth War Graves Commission to erect memorial headstones at Kenya’s Nairobi War Cemetery.
War cemeteries will remain in danger
Given ongoing conflict and instability in Yemen, Somalia and Gaza, it is unlikely any restorative works will be possible any time soon.
And the Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s chief of staff, Peter Francis, acknowledged[26] in October 2024 that cemetery rebuilding would not be prioritised as part of reconstruction in Gaza, given the scale of destruction across the broader Gaza Strip.
There is also the financial factor, with reconstruction of the Gaza War Cemetery alone estimated[27] to cost around £5 million (about A$9.6 million). The figure is likely much higher now, given the scale of destruction since this 2024 estimate.
All this reflects the difficulties the Commonwealth War Graves Commission encounters in trying to mark, record and maintain graves and commemorative sites.
As troubling as this situation is, particularly for affected families, it is a difficult reality: war cemeteries will remain in danger amid active unrest and conflict.
References
- ^ first notified (www.abc.net.au)
- ^ has confirmed (www.cwgc.org)
- ^ report (www.theguardian.com)
- ^ New Zealanders (www.nzherald.co.nz)
- ^ Canadians (www.ctvnews.ca)
- ^ indicate (www.theguardian.com)
- ^ more than 3,400 (www.cwgc.org)
- ^ surprise (theconversation.com)
- ^ three major battles (www.awm.gov.au)
- ^ more than 6,000 (anzacportal.dva.gov.au)
- ^ buried (theconversation.com)
- ^ Australian War Memorial (www.awm.gov.au)
- ^ burials at Gaza War Cemetery (www.cwgc.org)
- ^ Australian War Memorial (www.awm.gov.au)
- ^ 2006 (www.news.com.au)
- ^ 2009 (www.abc.net.au)
- ^ compensate (www.smh.com.au)
- ^ cares (www.cwgc.org)
- ^ challenging location (www.cwgc.org)
- ^ Habbaniya War Cemetery (www.cwgc.org)
- ^ 2020 (www.cwgc.org)
- ^ twice (www.abc.net.au)
- ^ Maala Cemetery (www.cwgc.org)
- ^ remains off-limits and mostly destroyed (www.cwgc.org)
- ^ forced (www.cwgc.org)
- ^ acknowledged (www.aph.gov.au)
- ^ estimated (www.aph.gov.au)
Authors: Nicole Townsend, Lecturer in War Studies, UNSW Sydney
