Protecting the keys to the past

Mementoes of houses left behind carry symbolic weight for displaced Gazan families

- MOHAMMED JAHJOUH AND FATMA KHALED

On his key chain, Hassan Nofal keeps the keys to two homes. One is to the house of his grandparents in what is now southern Israel, which he says his family was driven out of by Israeli forces in 1948 and to which they've never been able to return.

The other is to Nofal's house in northern Gaza that he had to flee last year after Israel launched its campaign of bombardment and offensives in the territory.

Over the nearly nine months since, Nofal and his family have been uprooted four times, driven back and forth across the Gaza Strip to escape the onslaught. Nofal said he is determined to make sure his key doesn't become a keepsake like that of his grandparents.

"If my house key becomes just a memory with me moving forward, then I don't want to live anymore," he said. "I must return to my house ...I want to stay in Gaza and settle in Gaza with my children in our house."

Israel has said Palestinians will eventually be allowed to go back to their homes in Gaza, but it is not clear when. Many homes have been destroyed or heavily damaged.

Israel's assault in Gaza, triggered by Hamas's Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel, has driven some 1.9 million of the territory's pre-war population of 2.3 million Palestinians from their homes. Most of them have been uprooted repeatedly since then, fleeing over and over across the length of the strip to escape a series of ground offensives.

Each time has meant a wrenching move to a new location and a series of crowded, temporary shelters whether at the homes of extended family, UN schools, or tent camps. Along the way, families have struggled to stay together and keep a few possessions. In each new site, they must find new sources of food, water and medical treatment.