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At Gaza funeral for drowned migrants, mourners offer rare criticism of Hamas
Mohammed al-Shaer's mother on his coffin during his funeral in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, December 18, 2022. (AP Photo/ Fatima Shbair)
Thousands of people join the funerals of eight young Palestinian men who drowned off the coast of Tunisia nearly two months ago, as they tried to sail to new lives in Europe.
The drownings have reverberated across Gaza, prompting some rare public criticism of the ruling Hamas militant group.
“The government that governs us here is the reason. It’s to blame. It’s to blame,” says Naheel Shaath, whose 21-year-old son Adam was among the dead. “I blame all officials here who don’t care for the youths or provide job opportunities for them.”
