BBCNow they smile as they play collectively within the sand in al-Mawasi tent metropolis in southern Gaza, however the youngsters of the Masri household have survived horrific occasions.
“Their lives had been at risk, they had been uncovered to a lot killing and destruction,” says their grandmother, Kawther al-Masri.
An Israeli bombing six weeks in the past hit their residence within the northern city of Beit Lahia, killing the dad and mom of one-year-old Jamal and the mom and two younger sisters of his cousins Maria, Jana and Zeina, aged two and 9 years. The women’ father was arrested by Israeli forces greater than a yr in the past.
When the youngsters had been pulled from the rubble, they had been injured and alone.
Since the battle in Gaza started, greater than 14,500 youngsters have reportedly been killed, 1000’s extra have been injured, and round 17,000 have been left unaccompanied or separated from members of the family who would usually take care of them.
Some are too younger to know their names and stay unidentified.
In a chaotic state of affairs amidst bombings and mass displacements, Unicef, the United Nations youngsters’s company, managed to reunite solely 63 youngsters with their dad and mom or guardians. Last month the BBC adopted the story of the 4 Masri cousins.
“The happiness of their return is indescribable, however it’s overshadowed by disappointment: they returned with out their dad and mom,” Kawther al-Masri informed us.
Initially, the information reached Kawther in mid-November that each one his family members remaining within the household residence in northern Gaza had been killed. But she says that after praying, information got here to her that three of her grandchildren had been nonetheless alive.
He instantly knew he needed to deliver them to him. “I wished them,” he explains. “I truthfully wished to go get them up north, however God’s will is above all else.”
For greater than a yr, Israel has divided the northern third of the Gaza Strip from the southern two-thirds alongside the road of a valley, Wadi Gaza. Humanitarian employees should perform particular coordination to cross the Israeli navy zone that divides the territory in two.
After Kawther gathered the paperwork he wanted, Unicef carried out its personal welfare checks and undertook a laborious course of to rearrange the relocation of the Masri youngsters.
While the 4 grieving cousins underwent medical remedy, distant family members cared for them. Unicef filmed their emotional farewell earlier than taking the youngsters away in armored automobiles.
The brief distance from Gaza City to Deir al-Balah, the place the convoy was headed now, includes crossing an Israeli checkpoint, takes a very long time to drive and could be very dangerous because the battle rages. Yet Unicef says it’s giving precedence to baby reunions.
“The challenges are many,” says Rosalia Bollen, spokesperson for Unicef. “But we’re speaking about extremely weak youngsters right here.”
“These are tales of loss, of deep psychological and bodily trauma, and tales of restoration for these youngsters. The proven fact that they had been reunited with one or each dad and mom, or with a member of the family, is extraordinarily, extraordinarily vital.”
Kawther describes the agonizing anticipate the day the youngsters had been due till lastly Unicef referred to as. He hadn’t seen his grandchildren for 14 months.
“I did not know who to hug first!” he exclaims. “The first one I hugged was Jana after which Zeina. I kissed her and hugged her.”
“My son’s children referred to as me ‘Kuko’ and despite the fact that Zeina could not communicate the final time I noticed her, she knew that was my nickname. She stored asking me, ‘Are you Kuko? Are you the one for why did I come right here?’ ‘ And I informed her I used to be.
The story of the Masri household shouldn’t be unusual. They had been divided within the early days of the battle.
Every week after the October 7, 2023 Hamas assault that killed round 1,200 individuals in southern Israel, the Israeli military ordered 1.1 million individuals in northern Gaza to maneuver south, signaling it meant to launch a land invasion.
Kawther and most of his youngsters rapidly packed their baggage and moved to Rafah, however the transportation of his two sons, Ramadan and Hamza, failed. In the tip they had been left with their wives – certainly one of whom was pregnant – and younger youngsters.
In November 2023, Hamza was arrested by Israeli forces in Beit Lahia. His quick family members insist that he and they’re farmers with no political affiliations. The BBC was unable to acquire data from the Israeli authorities about what occurred to Hamza.
Israel arrested 1000’s of Gazans in the course of the battle, saying they had been suspected of terrorism.
“This was our destiny,” Kawthar tells us desperately. “We misplaced our houses, our land and our family members, and had been divided between the North and the South.”
With so many individuals lacking, many are turning to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) for assist. He takes detailed data and compares it to sources he can entry, similar to hospital lists and names of repatriated prisoners.
More than 8,300 instances have been reported to the group, however solely about 2,100 have been closed. Of these, solely a small quantity led to household reunions.
“People are in limbo: they do not know if their members of the family are alive, if they’re injured or in hospital, if they’re trapped underneath the rubble or if they’ll see them once more,” says Sarah Davies of the ICRC.
Doctors and hospital employees additionally play a job in making an attempt to attach their sufferers with family members.
Nearly a yr in the past, the BBC filmed a child woman who had been delivered by caesarean part after her mom was killed in an Israeli airstrike. Doctors named the little woman “Hanna Abu Amsha’s daughter” and stored details about her within the hope that her family members might hint her.
Recently, the nursery at Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Hospital in Deir al-Balah informed us that the little woman was lastly handed over to her father and was doing effectively.
A number of days after the Masri household was reunited, a neighborhood journalist working with the BBC visited Kawther and his grandchildren in al-Mawasi refugee camp the place they now dwell in a tent. As help was briefly provide, Unicef helped them get further meals and medicines.
The women additionally had heat jackets – a sort of safety towards the chilly temperatures which have led a number of youngsters to die of hypothermia, together with within the coastal camp close to the city of Khan Younis.
Although Kawther is relieved to have the youngsters together with her, she nonetheless does not really feel secure. He worries about tips on how to deal with them and their psychological well being.
“I’m in shock,” he says. “No matter how a lot we attempt to distract the ladies and keep away from speaking concerning the battle, from time to time they drift away with their ideas.”
“When evening falls, they’re scared. They say, ‘There’s a airplane, there is a strike.’ They ask me: ‘Is it daybreak already?’ and solely when morning comes do they start to really feel reassured.”
Kawther says he desperately hopes for a ceasefire and that his grandchildren can rebuild their lives. To keep away from changing into a part of a misplaced era.
