House keys carry symbolic weight for Gaza families repeatedly displaced by war
Over nine months of war between Israel and Hamas, Palestinian families in Gaza have been uprooted repeatedly, driven back and forth across the territory to escape the fighting
MUWASI, Gaza Strip (AP) — 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 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 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.”
