Haunted by grief, Gaza's displaced still wait overseas for return

Omar al-Hassayna fled Gaza for Cairo after an Israeli airstrike wiped out much of his large family. Three years on, he remains there waiting for enough stability, security and reconstruction in his still devastated homeland to return.

Hassayna is one of more than 100,000 Gazans who left the enclave during the war that was triggered by the Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October 2023 and who remain stranded overseas, according to Palestinian Authority figures. They still mourn dead relatives and their destroyed homes and neighbourhoods.

"I left Gaza and came to Egypt, the land of Kinana (referring to Egypt), but at the same time, this will not be forgotten, my dear brother, it will not be forgotten," he said.

"I am waiting for the opportunity, I am waiting for the moment when Gaza becomes stable so I can return to my country and be a productive member of this country and be a positive force for the country."

Nearly a year after a ceasefire in Gaza that was meant to start a process of reconstruction under a technocratic government along with a political process that would lead to an eventual full Israeli withdrawal, little has changed.

Israeli forces still hold more than 60% of the territory and conduct almost daily airstrikes, while Hamas controls most of the area where Palestinians live, mostly in temporary shelters with what aid agencies call inadequate aid supplies and no prospect of reconstruction soon.

Some 308 members of Hassayna's extended family were killed when Israeli strikes destroyed a cluster of Gaza City apartment buildings where they had gathered for shelter on 22 November 2023, according to Palestinian authorities.

Among those killed were his wife, four of their adult sons and four small grandchildren, including an infant only a few months old.

Hassayna's oldest son, Mohammed, is also in Cairo along with his own four children, as is the widow of one of his dead sons with her daughter. He has brothers in the Egyptian capital too.

One daughter was medically evacuated to Turkey with her husband and six children, and another daughter remains in Gaza with her five children, although her husband was killed in the attack.

The Israeli military did not respond to a request for comment on the details of the 22 November strike. It said its attacks in Gaza are directed at military targets while trying to reduce harm to civilians.

About 7,000 Palestinians have returned to Gaza

In August, Hassayna watched on video from Cairo as relatives buried 112 family members, including his wife, sons and grandchildren, whose bodies had been recovered from the rubble, with dozens still missing.

Hassayna owned a business selling tools for firefighting and safety equipment in Gaza, and some of his goods survived the war. He periodically sells some to fund his stay in Cairo, where he has remarried.

All those who left Gaza were vetted before their departure by both Israel and Egypt, but many have found it hard to return to the territory.

Although some Israeli politicians have urged a policy of encouraging all Gaza's population to leave and to prevent those who left from returning, about 7,000 have gone home. Hassayna believes Egypt will stop any widespread displacement of Palestinians from Gaza.

However, no widespread return of those who fled Gaza may be likely until the territory's prospects are clearer.

"If Gaza returns. If there is an international agreement (with) a comprehensive situation for the Palestinian people and construction begins, why would I delay?" he said.