‘Our wedding photo was all that was left in rubble of my home destroyed by war’
A photograph and a children’s toy.
These were the only two things Hamdi Mustafa Shoshaa managed to retrieve from his home in northern Gaza after he returned for the first time since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war.
Hamdi, a 38-year-old artist from Gaza City, is one of the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who have returned to their native homeland hoping to rebuild their lives after months of fighting.
It follows the ceasefire deal that was announced by former US President Joe Biden in January, just five days before he left office.
But the deal could collapse this weekend after Hamas said it would stop releasing Israeli hostages, claiming Israel was violating the conditions.
According to the United Nations, more than 462,000 people have crossed from the south to the north in the last three weeks.
In exclusive footage given to Metro, Hamdi has revealed what it has been like returning back to his home for the first time since the war began.
Standing on a pile of rubble which used to be his home, he shows a sweet photograph of himself and his wife, Shorouq, on their wedding day.
Hamdi is seen in a smart navy suit, light blue shirt, blue tie and blue pocket square, while Shorouq is wearing a white gown and veil, her hand delicately placed on her new husband’s chest.
Joining Hamdi in his return to Gaza were his brothers-in-law, Omar Ahmed Sourani, 27, and Mohamed Ahmed Sourani, 21.
He said the journey, which took him three hours by foot, felt like a ‘religious pilgrimage.’
But despite his excitement in returning home, what awaited him in the Sudanese district north of Gaza City was way beyond anything he could have ever imagined.
He told Metro: ‘I knew that my house was destroyed, but the scene was beyond my ability to imagine, and at that moment feelings that I had never encountered before were mixed together.
‘Everything had become like a torn garment, and nothing remained for me and my neighbours except scattered memories here and there.
‘Despite how small and simple, I treated them as a precious treasure that bears witness to my life and the life of my small family.
‘The [wedding] picture brings me [closer] together with my wife, Shorouq.
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‘I embraced my memories at that moment, but the questions and the great burden grew in my mind about what form our life would take [now].’
Hamdi and his family were displaced in the early months of the war. Similarly to thousands of other Gazans, they have since moved to the southern city of Khan Younis, a largely-destroyed metropolis near the border with Egypt.
For his return to Gaza, he left his wife Shorouq, 30, and their three daughters Ghada, six, Bana, five, and Salma, two, behind to keep them safe.
Driven by what he described as ‘indescribable longing,’ he marched toward Gaza City shortly after the ceasefire announcement was made on January 15.
Recalling the journey, the father-of-three said everyone – ‘young and old, women and men’ – chanted ‘Come on, walk with us to Palestine’ and ‘My country, Gaza, O Gaza, land of glory and land of pride.’
What is happening with the ceasefire in Gaza?
Israel’s leader Benjamin Netanyahu declared on Tuesday the ceasefire in Gaza would end if Hamas did not release hostages by midday on Saturday.
Following the Israeli PM’s ultimatum – empowered by his ally Donald Trump, the Palestinian militant group issued a statement renewing its commitment to the deal and accusing Israel of jeopardizing it.
The Israeli announcement came after Netanyahu met with several key ministers, including defence, foreign affairs and national security, who he said gave the ultimatum their full support.
After nearly 16 months of war, Hamas has gradually been releasing hostages since the first phase of a ceasefire began on January 19.
But on Monday it said it would not free any more until further notice after claiming Israel was violating the deal.
‘If Hamas does not return our hostages by Saturday noon – the ceasefire will end and the military will return to intense fighting until Hamas is finally defeated,’ Netanyahu said.
It was not immediately clear if he meant Hamas should release all hostages held in Gaza or just the three who had been expected to be released on Saturday under the ceasefire.
‘The majestic moment when my body was freed from all forms of fatigue and my soul rejoiced with joy was when my feet stepped into the neighbourhood that I had carried in my memory for 15 months of war,’ he said.
After collecting the toy and wedding photograph, Hamdi has since returned to Khan Younis to reunite with his wife and children and is still figuring out his next steps.
During his time in the southern city, he has delivered art workshops for youngsters, funded by Christian Aid charity and run by the Palestinian Culture and Free Thought Association, to give them even a brief distraction from the constant missile strikes.
Before the war broke out, he worked in manufacturing.
Hamdi, who lost all his livelihood during the war, added: ‘I do not know if there is [the possibility] to start over with my project Tezzkar, which is a project specialised in manufacturing souvenirs and heritage items in a city where everyone’s priority is to search for a living.
‘However, I pin some hopes on marketing my creative works through cyberspace to the outside world and to supporters and those interested in Palestinian affairs who flock to the Gaza Strip.
‘I do not know if that will be enough to take off my professional life again.’
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