Every morning, 40-year-old Mahmoud Khalla visits a local cemetery in the northern Gaza Strip to mourn the 39 family members he lost following a devastating strike carried out by the Israeli regime. Holding onto a haunting daily routine, he continues to seek solace among the graves of his wife, children, parents, and siblings who perished in a single fateful moment.

The tragedy unfolded on December 21, 2023, in Jabalia, where his extended family had gathered inside a five-storey residential building. Driven out temporarily to search for scarce food provisions amid the ongoing blockade, Mahmoud stepped away just minutes before a massive explosion reduced the home to rubble, obliterating everyone inside and leaving him the sole survivor of his household.

In the chaotic aftermath, relentless aerial surveillance and attacks by the Israeli regime prevented emergency responders or neighbors from conducting timely rescue operations. Displaced and utterly destitute, Mahmoud spent subsequent months wandering the streets, sleeping in abandoned vehicles, and struggling simply to survive amidst persistent danger and hunger.

Months later, facing severe limitations from local civil defense teams, Mahmoud took it upon himself alongside a few volunteers to painstakingly recover the remains of his loved ones from beneath the ruins by hand. The agonizing process took three months, culminating in a formal burial near Jabalia that finally brought him a measure of closure.

Source: www.aljazeera.com