The Israel Defence Forces have told CBC News that they dug 20 to 30 metres deep in a Gaza war cemetery where 22 Canadian soldiers are buried in order to destroy a Hamas tunnel.
An IDF officer who spoke to CBC News on background and who was involved in combat operations in the area said he was not able to give any assurance that Israeli forces had taken measures to preserve human remains.
News that the cemetery had been damaged during IDF combat operations was first reported in The Guardian on Feb. 4, but until now it was not clear whether the damage was just to surface structures such as headstones and walls or also included the remains of the dead. Bodies are normally buried at a depth of two to three metres.
CBC News reached out to the IDF for comment. They provided a spokesperson on the condition that they not be named in the story.
Two cemeteries in Gaza hold the remains of Commonwealth soldiers who died over the decades in both world wars and subsequent peacekeeping missions. The main Gaza War Cemetery is in Tuffah district of Gaza City in the north of the Gaza Strip. A smaller cemetery is in Deir el-Balah in central Gaza.
The Israel Defence Forces have confirmed with CBC News that they dug up the Gaza War Cemetery, where several Canadian soldiers are buried. The IDF said it was done to destroy a Hamas tunnel, but it would not confirm if anything was done to preserve any disturbed remains.
They mostly contain the remains of British, Australian and Indian soldiers who died during the Middle Eastern campaigns of the First and Second World Wars.
At least one Canadian killed during the Second World War, Flight Sgt. Reginald Bowes of the Royal Canadian Air Force, is recorded as lying among them.
Parts of the main cemetery sustained “extensive damage,” said the Commonwealth War Graves Commission in a statement, adding “it is unlikely we will be able to enter Gaza for some time and are not able to protect the sites from further damage.”
A small plot attached to the Gaza War Cemetery also held the remains of 22 Canadian soldiers who lost their lives during the UN peacekeeping mission in Egypt following the Suez Crisis in 1956. That plot appears to have been completely destroyed.
The Israeli officer who spoke to CBC News confirmed that digging operations were focused on that southern part of the cemetery compound.
He said the IDF had been active in the site in July and August of last year and had been engaged with Hamas combatants who were using tunnels to move. He that the excavations were carried out with heavy machinery, operating under wartime conditions.
Family says it should never have happened
One of the Canadians buried at the site was Johnny Fickling of Ontario.
His sister, Grace Bolton, now 91, says her brother was laid off from a couple of civilian jobs and decided to join the army, serving in Alaska and in the Middle East, where he lost his life in October 1966. She has never been able to visit his gravesite and says she doesn’t expect to ever see it now.
The family has seen the satellite photos that show the scale of destruction in the cemetery.
“I think it’s terrible,” she told CBC News. “It should never have happened.”
“It looks pretty bad. I really don’t think there’s much of the cemetery there now at all,” Fickling’s niece, Sharon Gibbs, told CBC News. “It’s pretty disgusting, especially since he was a peacekeeper. So much for peace.”
The Guardian newspaper used satellite imagery to confirm reports of damage to the cemetery. At the southeast corner where the Canadian peacekeepers lay, sand and vehicle tracks are visible, but the two-dimensional image did not give a clear picture of the depth of digging operations.
“There can’t be, in my mind, a justifiable reason why you would destroy a cemetery,” said Berkley Lawrence, national president of the Royal Canadian Legion.
Lawrence told CBC News it’s already difficult for family members when soldiers are buried thousands of kilometres from home and they are unable to visit. Destruction of the plot, he told CBC News, “has to be devastating. And I’m devastated by it, as is the whole legion.”
The question that remains to be answered, he said, is “what happened to the remains that were there when when it was dug up?”
Not clear when access will be granted
A Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) spokesperson said it currently has no way to access the Gaza cemeteries, which are under Israeli military control, and has limited information about the condition of the graves.
“Our key focus remains the safety and well-being of our staff and their families, and we are in regular contact with them all to support where possible,” the spokesperson said.
“When it is safe to do so, we will complete assessments of our sites before we can begin to restore them to a manner befitting all those who fell.… We will continue to update everyone as and when we are able.”
The IDF officer who spoke to CBC News said that questions about future access to the site were best directed to the Israeli government.
CBC News reached out to the Israeli Embassy but had not received a response at time of publication.
The CWGC cares for the graves of 110,355 Canadians around the world, all of whom died in the First and Second World Wars except for the 22 peacekeepers buried in Gaza.
Canada ‘deeply concerned’
The Canadian government was unable to provide specific information about the condition of the site.
In a statement, Clemence Grevey of Global Affairs Canada said “Canada is deeply concerned by reports that the Gaza War Cemetery was damaged last year. This includes the gravestones of Canadians and a plot dedicated to Canadian United Nations peacekeepers. Canada is in contact with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission about this matter.”
“Canada underscores the importance of ensuring that historical and memorial sites dedicated to those who served are preserved with the utmost respect.”
Veterans Affairs Canada said “military grave markers play a crucial part in preserving the memory of deceased Canadians who served their country during war and peace.”
The department said that “once the situation stabilizes further, we expect the CWGC will continue their maintenance of the site, understanding that their work will be guided by the local situation.”
When the IDF first entered Gaza in 2023, soldiers were astonished to find well cared-for Jewish graves marked with Stars of David. The graves were cared for by four generations of the same family. Now displaced by the IDF, the family is in Egypt, says the CWGC. The Gaza cemetery is in a part of the Gaza Strip the IDF has closed to civilians and is impossible to approach safely.
Fickling’s relatives in Canada say they knew about the family that cared for the Gaza War Cemetery and appreciated the care they had taken.
“The fact that it’s destroyed is … there’s no words to even say,” said Gibbs.
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