Beside the graves of her three sons, Palestinian woman Fawzia Abu al-Ata sits every morning, reminiscing about her life and memories before the war, which she says robbed her of everything, leaving her with nothing but sorrow and the sight of her departed loved ones.
The Palestinian woman lost her home and three of her sons during the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip. Her husband was also captured by the occupation forces and remains imprisoned to this day, as she told Al Jazeera Mubasher.
Fawzia used to own a three-story house, where her sons, including the married ones, lived with her. Now, she lives in a tent next to the graves of her three sons, whom she says she speaks to in their graves every morning.
On her phone, the grieving mother looks at photos of her martyred sons celebrating their youngest brother’s success in his high school exams. She mourns their loss and has planted a special greenery around the grave of her son Abu Hamza, because he loved greenery.
After losing her home, her money, and her sons, all that remains for this woman are her young children, who live with her in the same tent. The United Nations estimates that more than 80% of Gaza’s buildings were damaged or destroyed as of October 11th. Earlier this year, an analysis by The New York Times, based on recent satellite imagery from Planet Labs, revealed that Israel had demolished more than 2,500 buildings since the ceasefire agreement, in what it claims are operations aimed at destroying tunnels and booby-trapped houses.
