Gaza City, Palestine – Aya Hassouna is thin with a pale face. Her eyes are red and her voice is full of sadness.
She had a husband, Abdullah, and two children, Hamza, four, and Raghad, two years old. But while she was coming back with hundreds of thousands of other Palestinians in the north of Gaza after months of travel in the south of the enclave, she was traveling alone.
Abdullah, Hamza and Raghad were killed in an Israeli attack on August 9, while they were preparing for a day trip to the beach, an attempt to escape the daily horrors of the war.
Aya described a strong explosion, smoke, then her children who died on the ground with blood flowing from their heads.
Abdullah, who had earlier bought ingredients for a cake and snacks for the beach, was also dead.
“Since that time, I have been trying to be strong. I try to bear the separation, ”said Aya. “But everything that surrounds me reminds me of.”
His return trip to the Gaza City district of Asaftawi last week, as part of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, had many of these painful reminders. Abdullah desperately needed to go home. He had already reserved the clothes he would wear for the trip. She took her husband’s outfit to her during her long walk to the north, as well as those of her children. And it worked, alone.
“Sadness ate in my heart,” said Aya. “Sometimes I cried. I looked at the families walking together, a mother, a father and their children. As for me, I was alone without any of them.
Aya arrived at her family home and found her mother, but she doesn’t know how long the trip has taken. Her mind was concerned about sorrow that losses that still haunt her.
Shortly after, she decided to go see everything left in her house, which had been destroyed during the war. While she was looking through the rubble of all their ancient effects to keep as souvenirs, she found herself to imagine in search of her lost loved ones, and finally to find them.
“What can I do?” This is my fate.
The devoted son
Many of those who return to the north of Gaza had to undergo the same pain as Aya, returning home, but without their loved ones.
The War of Israel against Gaza killed more than 61,700 Palestinians, including more than 17,400 children.
Jawaher Shaber’s son Walid was one of those who were killed. They fled the city of Gaza together at the start of the war, moving to Rafah, in the far south of the strip.
Walid was Jawaher’s eldest son. He was 26 years old and “dedicated and affectionate”. It was this love for his mother and family that led Walid to leave family tent in Rafah at the end of Ramadan in April of last year, trying to find work to mitigate the famine conditions by which The family lived.
“He found work with one of his friends near Khan Younis,” said Jawaher. “He promised that he would come back with the Gombo to cook.”
But Walid did not return. Jawaher was informed that he had been killed by the Israeli army in Khan Younis.
The month passed heavily on the heart of Jawaher. She says she lost the ability to speak. Instead, in her mind, she imagined Walid, imagining her return.
Jawaher made his own return to the North with the rest of his family. But before leaving, she would make a last stop to visit the tomb of Walid.
“I cried on Walid,” said Jawaher. “How could I come back without him?” How will I meet my Gaza City daughters and granddaughters without Walid, this nice young man, this companion.
