250 Couples Marry in Mass Wedding Among Gaza's Ruins

Some 250 couples were married in a mass wedding ceremony in Gaza City on Friday, 6 November, according to Reuters. The celebration took place among the wreckage of destroyed buildings and the tents where displaced people are living, as BBC footage showed.

The brides and grooms came from across Gaza. The ceremony was organised by the United Arab Emirates' humanitarian mission, Operation Gallant Knight 3. Its organisers described the event as a celebration of love and new beginnings in the besieged enclave.

The wedding took place against the background of a war that began with an attack on Israel by Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that governs Gaza, on 7 October 2023. That attack killed about 1,200 people and saw 251 others taken hostage. Israel responded with a military campaign in Gaza, and more than 74,640 people have been killed there, according to the territory's health ministry.

A ceasefire, meaning an agreed pause in fighting, has been in place since October 2025. It is described as fragile.