The struggle to reunite children with families in war-torn Gaza

They are smiling present arsenic they play unneurotic successful the soil astatine al-Mawasi structure campy successful confederate Gaza, but the children of the Masri household person survived horrific events.

"Their lives were successful danger, they were exposed to truthful overmuch sidesplitting and destruction," says their grandmother, Kawther al-Masri.

An Israeli bombing six weeks agone struck their location successful the bluish municipality of Beit Lahia, sidesplitting the parents of one-year-old Jamal and the parent and 2 young sisters of his cousins Maria, Jana and Zeina, aged from 2 to nine. The girls' begetter was arrested by Israeli forces much than a twelvemonth ago.

When the children were pulled from the rubble, they were injured and alone.

Since the commencement of the warfare successful Gaza, much than 14,500 children person reportedly been killed, thousands much injured and an estimated 17,000 person been near unaccompanied oregon separated from the household members who would ordinarily attraction for them.

Some are excessively young to cognize their names and stay unidentified.

In a chaotic concern amid bombings and wide displacement, the UN's children's agency, Unicef, has managed to reunite conscionable 63 children with their parents oregon guardians. Last month, the BBC followed the communicative of the 4 Masri cousins.

"The happiness of their instrumentality is indescribable, but it's overshadowed with sadness - they came backmost without their parents," Kawther al-Masri told us.

Initially, the quality that reached Kawther successful mid-November was that each of her loved ones who had remained successful the family's location successful bluish Gaza had been killed. But she says that aft she prayed, connection reached her that 3 of her grandchildren were inactive alive.

She instantly knew that she had to bring them to her. "I longed for them," she explains. "Honestly, I wished I could spell to the North and fetch them, but God's volition is supra everything."

For much than a twelvemonth now, Israel has divided the bluish 3rd of the Gaza Strip from the confederate two-thirds on the enactment of a valley, Wadi Gaza. Humanitarian workers person to transportation retired peculiar co-ordination to transverse the Israeli subject portion bisecting the territory.

After Kawther collected the documents she needed, Unicef carried retired its ain payment checks and went done a laborious process to put to determination the Masri children.

As the 4 bereaved cousins underwent aesculapian treatment, distant relatives had looked aft them. Unicef filmed their affectional goodbye earlier it took the children distant successful armoured vehicles.

The abbreviated region from Gaza City to Deir al-Balah wherever the convoy was heading present involves crossing an Israeli checkpoint, it takes a agelong clip to thrust and tin beryllium precise risky arsenic the warfare rages on. Yet Unicef says it is prioritising kid reunifications.

"The challenges are multiple," says Rosalia Bollen, a Unicef spokeswoman. "But we're talking present astir highly susceptible children."

"These are stories of nonaccomplishment – of heavy intelligence trauma and carnal trauma and for these children to recover. The information that they've been reunified with 1 oregon some parents, oregon a household member, is extremely, highly important."

Kawther describes an agonising hold connected the time the children were owed to get until yet Unicef telephoned. She hadn't seen her grandchildren for 14 months.

"I didn't cognize who to hug first!" she exclaims. "The archetypal 1 I hugged was Jana and past Zeina. I kissed her and hugged her."

"My son's children utilized to telephone maine 'Kuko' and though Zeina couldn't talk the past clip I saw her, she knew this was my nickname. She kept asking: 'Are you Kuko? Are you the 1 I came present for?' And I told her I was. She felt safe."

The communicative of the Masri household is not uncommon. They were divided up successful the aboriginal days of the war.

A week aft the 7 October 2023 Hamas battle which killed immoderate 1,200 radical successful confederate Israel, the Israeli subject ordered 1.1 cardinal radical successful bluish Gaza to determination south, signalling that it planned to commencement a crushed invasion.

Kawther and astir of her children rapidly packed up and moved to Rafah, but proscription for her 2 sons, Ramadan and Hamza, fell through. They ended up staying down with their wives – 1 of whom was large – and tiny children.

In November 2023, Hamza was arrested by Israeli forces successful Beit Lahia. His adjacent relatives importune that helium and they are farmers with nary governmental affiliations. The BBC has been incapable to get accusation from the Israeli authorities astir what happened to Hamza.

Israel has detained thousands of Gazans during the war, saying they are suspected of terrorism.

"This has been our fate," Kawthar tells america despairingly. "We mislaid our homes, our onshore and our loved ones, and we were divided betwixt the North and the South."

With truthful galore radical unaccounted for, galore crook to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) for help. It takes elaborate accusation and cross-checks this with sources it tin access, specified arsenic infirmary lists and names of returned detainees.

More than 8,300 cases person been reported to the organisation but lone astir 2,100 person been closed. Of these, lone a tiny fig person led to household reunifications.

"People are successful limbo – they don't cognize whether their household subordinate is alive, whether they are injured oregon successful hospital, whether they are trapped nether rubble oregon whether they volition spot them again," says Sarah Davies from the ICRC.

Doctors and unit astatine hospitals besides play a portion successful trying to link their patients with loved ones.

Nearly a twelvemonth ago, the BBC filmed a newborn babe who had been delivered by Caesarean conception aft her parent was killed successful an Israeli aerial strike. Medics called the small miss "the girl of Hanna Abu Amsha" and kept accusation astir her successful the anticipation her relatives could way her down.

Recently, the nursery astatine Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Hospital successful Deir al-Balah told america that the babe was yet handed implicit to her begetter and was doing well.

Days aft the Masri family's reunion, a section writer moving with the BBC visited Kawther and her grandchildren successful the al-Mawasi displaced people's campy wherever they present unrecorded successful a tent. With assistance successful abbreviated supply, Unicef had fixed them assistance to get other nutrient and medication.

The girls besides had lukewarm jackets – immoderate extortion against the acold temperatures which person led to respective babies dying of hypothermia, including astatine the campy connected the coast, adjacent to the metropolis of Khan Younis.

While Kawther is relieved to person the children with her, she inactive does not consciousness they are safe. She worries astir however to attraction for them and their intelligence health.

"They are successful shock," she says. "No substance however overmuch we effort to distract the girls and debar talking of the war, each present and past they rotation disconnected successful thought."

"When nighttime falls, they are afraid. They say: 'There's a plane, there's a strike.' They inquire me: 'Is it dawn yet?' and lone erstwhile greeting comes, they commencement to consciousness reassured."

Kawther says she desperately hopes for a ceasefire and for her grandchildren to rebuild their lives. Not to go portion of a mislaid generation.