Annihilated Families and the Politics of Mass Graves: Testimonies of Gazan Women After the Loss of Entire Kin Networks

This study examines how extreme violence in Gaza is experienced and interpreted by women who survived the destruction of entire kin networks. Grounded in postcolonial and decolonial psychology, the research investigates how exterminatory violence, domicide, and spatiocide shape trauma beyond individual clinical frameworks. The study addresses the following questions: how do Gazan women narrate the psychological consequences of losing entire families, and how does the destruction of homes, space, and burial practices shape experiences of trauma and mourning? Participants were 30 displaced Gazan women (aged 19–60) living in shelters and camps in Rafah during the recent escalation of violence. Data were collected through semi‑structured qualitative interviews and written testimonies conducted in person or remotely depending on security conditions. Interviews were transcribed in Arabic and analyzed using inductive thematic analysis. Analysis identified six interconnected themes: (1) instantaneous erasure of entire family lines; (2) the emotional and social burden of losing dozens of relatives; (3) traumatic identification of bodies under conditions of mass death; (4) mass graves and disrupted mourning practices; (5) surviving as the sole remaining family member; and (6) fear of lineage erasure and memory loss. Findings indicate that trauma in Gaza is cumulative, relational, and spatially embedded, as the destruction of homes and neighborhoods collapses kinship structures, social roles, and intergenerational continuity. The study contributes to violence and trauma scholarship by demonstrating that psychological harm in contexts of mass violence cannot be separated from the political and spatial destruction of collective life. Clinical and psychosocial responses must therefore move beyond individual symptom frameworks and incorporate relational, community‑based, and justice‑oriented approaches that address disrupted mourning, survivor guilt, and the loss of social continuity.