Displaced families in Southern Lebanon are burying their relatives who died in the war in temporary graves, unable to return to their homes. New graves opened in a cemetery in Haret Saida reveal that the conflict has displaced not only lives but also funeral customs.
In the Haret Saida cemetery along Sidon's coastal area, numerous temporary graves have been dug on a gravel surface above the regular cemetery. Some graves are surrounded by concrete blocks, while some coffins are made from construction boards.
Among those buried here are Hezbollah members killed in Israeli attacks. Ghada Hussein waited by the grave holding photos of her son Mohammed Tufayli, who died in an Israeli strike. Hussein said her son had married this year and explained that her family could not return to their border village of Kfar Tibnit.
Hussein said she tried to take her son with her, but he refused to leave the village. The mother, noting that their village was destroyed, expressed hope that her son would one day return and that she would visit him morning and evening.
According to Lebanese officials, more than 3,700 people have died in Israeli attacks since the latest war began on March 2 with Hezbollah’s rocket attack showing support for Iran. Hezbollah states that this number includes its own fighters.
The ceasefire announced in April did not stop the fighting. While Israel continues its attacks on Southern Lebanon, Hezbollah has declared attacks against the occupying Israeli forces.
Lebanese authorities say over one million people have been displaced due to the war. They also accuse Israeli soldiers of destroying towns and villages along the border line.
Many temporary graves in the cemetery use handwritten signs instead of tombstones, displaying the deceased’s name and burial date. The Quran was recited at one grave, and some graves were decorated with flowers and plants.
Shia Muslim traditions allow temporary burial when proper funerals cannot be held or the body cannot be transported to the desired location. The fact that Haret Saida has a dense Shia population facilitates the widespread use of this practice here.
Hassan Saleh, responsible for burial affairs at the cemetery, said the temporary section was first established during the previous Israel-Hezbollah conflict that began in 2023. He noted that after the ceasefire in November 2024, some families still could not bury their relatives in border villages; the problem worsened when the war resumed this year.
Saleh stated that about 120 people have been temporarily buried since March and new graves continue to be dug. He added that those temporarily buried include first aid teams and unarmed civilians who died at home. When families arrive in groups, each person is placed in a separate coffin and buried in the same area.
Similar temporary burial sites have reportedly been established around Sidon in the south and the southern suburbs of Beirut. In Haret Saida, during a funeral, a coffin draped with a yellow Hezbollah flag was carried on shoulders amid women’s cries.
The coffin bearing the image of a fighter named Hassan Ali Kallas was taken to a temporary grave in the upper part of the cemetery. A relative, Bassem Yassine, said that aircraft in the area prevent families from returning to their village, so the burial was done here instead of Nabatiye el-Favka. Yassine expressed that being buried in the cemetery was better than waiting in the morgue.
