Gaza struggles to accommodate the living and the dead as population grows

Lamis Kuhail, 12, studies for school in the Sheikh Shaban cemetery where she lives with her family, in Gaza City, September 4, 2022.The children, who earn small amounts bringing water to funeral ceremonies, keep asking their parents when they will be able to move away from the cemetery. "I sometimes get invited by friends from school, but I can't invite them here, I am too shy to do that," said Lamis. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem

In the densely populated Gaza Strip, a battle for space is pitting the living against the dead as homeless squatters settle in the area's cemeteries while authorities grapple with the growing demand for new housing.

In the Sheikh Shaban cemetery, the area's oldest, Kamilia Kuhail's family live in a house built by her husband at the eastern edge of the site, covering the graves of two unknown people whose remains are now buried under the foundations.