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By Mahmoud Issa
GAZA (Reuters) - In the Gaza Strip where more than 90% of Palestinians have fled their homes, often repeatedly, the Al-Kahlout family has returned to shelter in the rubble of their destroyed house in the town of Beit Lahia.
Pulverised cement, a floor and a few sticks of furniture are all that's left of the five-storey building where Umm Nael and her husband Ismail Ahmed Al-Kahlout watched their children grow up.
Overcrowded Gaza was impoverished even before war ravaged the Palestinian enclave. But the family always had each other, until the conflict killed a son.
Like tens of thousands of Gazans, he was killed in the Israeli offensive launched after a cross-border raid by Hamas on Oct. 7 which claimed 1,200 lives, according to Israeli tallies.
“The memories with our son who was martyred are in it (the house)," Umm Nael said.
“We put our whole life's work in it, as well as our life's years, memories, dreams and our lives."
The Israeli military campaign has killed more than 40,000 people, wounded more 92,000 and flattened much of Gaza, according to Gaza authorities.
NOWHERE TO SHELTER SAFELY
Tarpaulins and cloths held up with metal poles now form the roof and walls. Al-Kahlout waters some plants in what is left of a bath.
The family said they fled their home, where they once also ran a photography business, when it was first damaged in a raid. But amidst the strikes and shelling, they had nowhere else to go, so they came back.
“I can't find shelter in schools, schools are crowded and they keep bombing them, so we preferred to live here,” Umm Al-Kahlout said.
The UN Human Rights Office has recorded at least 21 attacks on schools in Gaza since July 4 this year - attacks that it says have resulted in at least 274 fatalities, including women and children.
Israel says it goes to great lengths to avoid civilian casualties and accuses Hamas of using human shields at schools and other places, an allegation the group denies
Israel’s assault on Gaza has destroyed more than 60% of residential buildings and 80% of commercial facilities according to a January 2024 World Bank report.
Their ruined home provides hardly any shelter or safety and there are other challenges such diseases and hunger as the enclave is gripped by a humanitarian crisis. All the neighbouring properties are empty shells.
Families crave meat, chicken, fresh vegetables, Umm Nael said. “They even crave a piece of onion.”
(Writing by Catherine Cartier; editing by Michael Georgy and Andrew Heavens)
