Israel has fully destroyed greater than 1,000 buildings within the Zeitoun and Sabra neighbourhoods in Gaza Metropolis this month.
As soon as a thriving, vibrant neighbourhood in Gaza Metropolis, Zeitoun was recognized for its bustling markets, olive groves, and tight-knit neighborhood. Generations of households lived right here, constructing lives, reminiscences, and futures.
Immediately, Zeitoun is unrecognisable. Total blocks have been flattened. Houses decreased to rubble, Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud has been talking with Palestinians who as soon as referred to as the neighbourhood residence.
“We have been sleeping, and at midnight, the roof collapsed on our heads, and the items have been throughout us. We awakened terrified. I placed on my prayer robe and began to name my kids. I referred to as their names Ibrahim, Mahdi, Mohamed, Sanad. However I couldn’t see them due to all of the rubble and the mud,” mentioned Feryal Ahmed.
Israel has fully destroyed greater than 1,000 buildings within the Zeitoun and Sabra neighbourhoods of Gaza City because it began its sustained assault on the town on August 6, trapping a whole bunch beneath the rubble, the Palestinian Civil Defence mentioned earlier this month.
Israeli tanks have been rolling into the Sabra neighbourhood as Israel strikes to completely occupy Gaza Metropolis, forcing near 1 million Palestinians southwards to focus zones.
The size of destruction is staggering. What was as soon as alive with sound and color is now silent, gray, and buried in mud.
‘All the pieces in Zeitoun was stunning’
“I’ll always remember Zeitoun so long as I’m nonetheless respiratory. It’s a tragedy. I’m harm by what the Israelis are doing to the neighbourhood … All the pieces in Zeitoun was stunning – the birds, the water, the greenery, the farmlands, the olive timber,” mentioned Mahdi Awad.
Neighbours who as soon as gathered for meals in one another’s properties now sleep within the open, grieving and unsure of tomorrow.
Quite a few homes have been hit in Gaza Metropolis, which has been beneath extreme assault – particularly its Zeitoun and Sabra neighbourhoods – for a couple of week now.
Beneath the mounds of particles and concrete lies a deeper wound: the displacement of households, the silencing of neighbourhoods, and the lack of historical past.
“The destruction is much larger than simply the buildings on this neighbourhood. A lot of the infrastructure and residential areas, colleges, mosques, waterways and even pipelines and water networks have been severely broken, which makes life and dwelling right here virtually unimaginable,” mentioned Asem al-Nabih, a Gaza municipality spokesperson.
For a lot of younger Palestinians, Zeitoun is not only a spot on the map; it’s the solely residence they’ve ever recognized.
“I realized there, I grew up there. I’m one of many kids of the neighbourhood. I want I may get up and be informed to return. Even when my home has been bombed – and I’m certain it has – or if every thing is gone, I nonetheless wish to return,” mentioned Mahdi Khaled, a younger Palestinian resident.
Regardless of the devastation, this longing is stronger than the concern of bombardment.
From life to rubble, and from rubble to longing — the story of Zeitoun lives on in its folks. For them, residence is not only partitions and a roof; it’s reminiscence, belonging, and the dedication to return.
