'I want to fulfil my dead brother's dream' - rebuilding life in Gaza's ruins

Since the warfare started the occupation had go his life. Many of the radical being bombed were his neighbours, radical he'd grown up with.

Hatem Al-Atar, 25, wasn't married. His bravery was not reckless, oregon calved of ignorance. He knew helium could dice immoderate second.

"All days of warfare since 7 October until present were difficult. Every 2nd successful this warfare was hard. You could suffer your life, of a beloved 1 immoderate second," Hatem says.

He is sitting successful the civilian defence bureau successful Deir al-Balah with his comrades. They chat and cheque their phones. Each 1 is simply a survivor.

Ninety-four of their comrades were killed. More than 300 were wounded - astir fractional the civilian defence organisation successful Gaza.

For Hatem, decease was arsenic adjacent arsenic the detonation that blew him disconnected his feet successful a location adjacent Nasser hospital.

"There were radical injured and killed astir the house," helium remembers.

"I entered to cheque if determination is anyone there, live oregon dead. Once I did, a reconnaissance rocket deed the house."

The footage taken by a workfellow shows him striding into the building. A occurrence is burning to the near of frame.

Then determination is simply a large blast, clouds of smoke, a antheral staggering out, but it's not Hatem.

His friends spell backmost wrong and resistance him out. He's coughing and has to beryllium held up. But helium survives.

Others adjacent to him were not truthful fortunate.

On 14 March past twelvemonth - the commencement of Ramadan - helium got a telephone astatine 4 successful the greeting from 1 of his brothers.

Nobody successful Gaza, successful the clip of war, called astatine that clip with bully news.

"He told maine that our location successful al-Bureij was deed and my dada was killed."

Hatem went to al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital successful Deir al-Balah and met a household person who directed him to the mortuary.

"When I went there, my begetter was laid connected the level adjacent to 8 different bodies. They were my sister-in-law and her 7 children! I was successful shock."

Still, Hatem kept going, into the spot of explosions, collapsing buildings, the rubble wherever the dormant and occasionally the surviving were buried. He pulled retired bodies, and parts of bodies.

Then came the hr erstwhile the bombing and shooting stopped.

The archetypal nighttime without aerial strikes. The clip to commencement reasoning of thing that had not been guaranteed implicit the past 15 months - a future.

His thoughts crook to education, and romance.

"With the deal, I should deliberation what to bash next. I volition prosecute my assemblage survey erstwhile universities are backmost successful business. I'm azygous but I volition deliberation astir getting married."

To effort to archer the communicative of however the radical of Gaza experienced this war, I and BBC colleagues person depended connected the tireless efforts of section journalists moving connected our behalf.

Israel banned the overseas media from entering Gaza to study the warfare independently.

The BBC's section journalists person been connected the streets astir non-stop for the past 24 hours capturing the temper of Gaza successful the clip of ceasefire: a gunman lasting successful the roadway successful Nuseirat successful cardinal Gaza, firing into the air; Hamas fighters and constabulary re-emerging; a fewer yards down the roadworthy different radical of men shooting towards the sky; crowds gathering astatine transverse streets and connected corners; a antheral kneeling and kissing the ground.

But each of this is taking spot against a backdrop of ruin. Trucks and cars trundle past, weighed down with people's belongings. Some usage donkey carts to haul what possessions person survived aft their aggregate displacements.

There are hundreds of thousands of journeys successful Gaza today. Some are really nether way. Others beryllium successful the imagination. All person 1 absorption - home.

Prof Jumaa Abu Shiha arrives astatine what remains of his location successful Nuseirat.

First, helium says the feeling of having survived is "indescribable". He prays to himself: "God is the champion disposer of our affairs."

He repeats this arsenic helium goes from 1 ruined country to another. His woman and respective children follow.

Walls are blown out. The interiors are scarred with instrumentality weapon and shrapnel marks.

Prof Abu Shiha describes however helium built the location "block by block", painted it and cherished the infinitesimal helium brought his household to unrecorded here.

"I can't find a house, I tin lone spot demolition not a house," helium says. "I didn't expect this. I was expecting to travel backmost to a location and find a spot to structure maine and my children."

He points to his daughters' room, and his sons' room, truthful cautiously decorated and present laid waste. "The feeling is indescribable," helium says.

There is simply a monolithic task of rebuilding ahead. The UN and assistance agencies person repeatedly accused Israel of obstructing the travel of aid; the United States astatine 1 constituent threatened to curb subject assistance to Israel unless much assistance was allowed into Gaza. Israel denies restricting aid.

Aid trucks were crossing into the portion passim the afternoon. Among them was a convoy from the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organization, which we reported connected past week, connected the travel from Amman towards Gaza.

Forklift trucks moved tonnes of medicine and nutrient to assistance the astir 2 cardinal displaced successful Gaza - astir 90% of the population.

Such assistance is tangible assistance. It tin beryllium weighed, counted, loaded, and yet distributed. People tin beryllium fed and fixed medicine. But determination is different situation whose demands are immense, and which volition person a profound interaction connected the aboriginal of Gaza.

The warfare has created chartless numbers of traumatised adults and children. We person recorded immoderate of their stories but are alert of the tens of thousands much that stay untold.

Children person faced acute suffering. According to a survey of the caregivers of 504 children, for the UK foundation War Child, 96% of children felt decease was imminent.

The interviews besides recovered that 49% had a tendency to die. Frequently our journalists person heard young survivors accidental they wished they could articulation a dormant mother, father, oregon sibling.

Ten-year-old Amr al Hindi was the sole subsister of an Israeli onslaught connected the gathering wherever helium lived successful Beit Lahia past October. Our workfellow successful the country filmed Amr successful infirmary conscionable aft the attack.

The level astir him was covered with the wounded. A pistillate sat with humor seeping from her ear. Nearby a antheral had conscionable died.

"Where's Sherif?" Amr asked repeatedly. A caregiver told him Sherif was OK. "I volition instrumentality you upstairs to spot him." But Sherif, his brother, did not survive. Nor did his different brother, Ali, oregon his sister Aseel, oregon his parent and father. The full household was gone.

Just aft the ceasefire statement was announced we went backmost to spot what had go of Amr al Hindi. He was surviving with his grandparents, and it was wide they loved him with attraction and tenderness. The kid had 3 of his toes amputated aft the bombing, but was managing to locomotion normally.

Amr sat connected his grandfather's thigh and stared straight astatine the camera. He was still, and composed, arsenic if helium was looking retired from down a heavy protective screen. He began to talk astir his member Ali and however helium had wanted to spell to Jordan and survey to go a doctor.

"I privation to go similar Ali. I privation to fulfil his dream, and question to Jordan to go a doctor," helium said. But implicit the past fewer words tears began to autumn and helium broke into sobs.

Amr's gramps kissed him connected the cheek; helium said "darling" and patted his chest.

In this infinitesimal it is understood that determination are galore wars here.

Some that person paused. Others that, for the survivors, volition unrecorded agelong into the future.