Displaced in Hebron: Picking up pieces after Israeli siege

Al-Natsha’s family were given 20 minutes to leave, taking only their money, gold and important documents, and leaving behind most of their clothes, everyday belongings and family photographs.After hearing that Israeli forces had withdrawn, al-Natsha tentatively returned to check on the house on Monday.He found the doors wide open, and the house turned upside down.

Belongings were missing, as well as his young daughter’s pet bird.“When we entered the house, it was a mixture of emotions,” the 35-year-old orthopaedic surgeon said. “You couldn’t tell whether you were happy to be back home or heartbroken by what had happened to it.”The Israeli military operation in Hebron appears to be over – but al-Natsha and his family, and thousands of others in the city, are left to….

But seeing no signs of a withdrawal, they returned to their temporary accommodation, despite holding on to the hope of going home soon.Then, in the early hours of the morning, it was confirmed that the military had withdrawn.

Al-Natsha decided to head towards the neighbourhood at around 6am.

There, he found several neighbours making their way home and waited for relatives to arrive before entering the area and inspecting their houses.Al-Natsha was initially accompanied by his father and two brothers as they inspected the property, looking for suspicious objects or potential hazards after finding the doors open.Once they were satisfied that the house was safe, family members began cleaning and putting things back in order, removing belongings they….

Her biggest concern was the fate of her pet bird, “Natosh”, which she had left inside the house when the family was forced to leave.Al-Natsha has no idea where the bird is, whether it is dead, or whether the Israeli soldiers released it.

Ilya, meanwhile, keeps asking about her pet.The return of families to al-Jalada came after 10 days of military restrictions and evacuations affecting several neighbourhoods in Hebron.During the operation, hundreds of families were forced to leave their homes, while shops and institutions in the areas were closed.According to previously released figures from the Hebron Governorate’s Support and Relief Committee, 537 families, comprising approximately 3,300 people, were displaced.With residents now returning, the….

What mattered most was that residents had returned and could begin to regain a sense of stability.“Everything can be replaced: the destruction, the damage, the dirt, everything,” Shawer said. “But the most important thing is that we have returned to our homes, our paradise on Earth, the place where we find our psychological and physical stability.” Displaced Hebron families return to damaged homes, left to pick up scattered pieces of….