The Abu Jarads moved seven times since October 7. Home is a distant thought for thousands of families.
(AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana) Members of the Abu Jarad Family pose for a picture in their tent camp where they now reside after being displaced more than five times since the beginning of the Israel–Hamas War in Muwasi in Gaza Strip on Friday, September 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Ne’man Abu Jard sat down on a tarp. Canvas sheets formed the walls of his tent, which were hung from cords around him. Over the past year, Ne’man, his wife Majida, and their six daughters trekked the length Gaza Strip in an attempt to survive while Israeli forces destroyed everything around them.
It’s a long way from their home in northern Gaza, a place where they found comfort, love, affection, and safety. It was a place where family members gathered at the kitchen table, or on the roof, on summer evenings to enjoy the scent of jasmine and roses.
“Your home is your homeland” Ne’man said, “Our home was everything good in our lives.” “Everything, whether tangible or not — family, friends, my siblings, all around me.
We are missing everything.
The Abu Jarads lost their stability when Israel launched a campaign in Gaza as a retaliation to Hamas’ attack on Oct. 7.