GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Saddam Yazhi, his wife and daughter sipped noodle soup at sunset, ending the daily Ramadan fast in Gaza City. They gathered around a folding table in the dirt at the foot of a towering pile of rubble, twisted metal and slabs of concrete that had once been their home.
Buried under the rubble were the bodies of most of their family members.
These three are actually the only survivors of the family. In December 2023, Israeli forces bombed the house, killing Yazgi’s parents, his three brothers and sister, and most of their children, as well as his wife’s parents and siblings (40 relatives in total).
The Islamic month of Ramadan is traditionally a time for family gatherings, with large festive gatherings and iftar, the sunset meal that ends the daily fast. In the Gaza Strip, the toll of the war has been particularly severe for many families grieving the deaths of loved ones killed by Israeli forces fighting Hamas for more than two years.
“I cried looking at the photos of our Ramadan gatherings,” Yazgi, 35, said. “Where is my family? All wiped out.”
“This is already the third Ramadan without them.”
The family once had a Ramadan meal
Saddam’s wife, Heba al-Yazji, recalled that during Ramadan before the war, Yazji’s father, Kamel al-Yazji, gathered all his children and grandchildren together for iftar around a large table filled with meat, rice and other dishes.
Ramadan, a month when Muslims fast from dawn to dusk, is a month dedicated to religious reflection and worship. It also builds community through charitable giving.
The elder Yazgi was a former Palestinian Authority judge and a well-known sports figure in Gaza. He is currently the chairman of the Palestinian Athletics Federation. Saddam al-Yazji makes a living running a supermarket on the ground floor of a four-story house in Gaza City’s Rimal neighborhood.
The airstrikes came months after Israel launched heavy bombing in October 2023 following a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel. The house was razed to the ground, along with everyone inside.
“We were in the same house, but in other parts of the house,” Saddam Yazhi said. “We miraculously survived.”
The only survivors were the daughter and pregnant wife of one of his brothers. Among the dead were 22 children.
At that time, some of the bodies had been fished ashore. One of Yazgi’s brothers was buried in a stick-marked grave at the foot of the destroyed house. About 20 relatives are still buried under the rubble.
After the attack, the couple and their 11-year-old daughter, Maryam, spent much of the war living in tents elsewhere in Gaza City. Over the past two Ramadans, they have visited their ruined home whenever possible and had iftar meals there.
After the ceasefire came into effect in October, the three moved into a tent next to their hometown.
“Life is empty,” Heba Yazhi said. “The war took everything from me. We wanted to die with them, not alone.”
Most families feel lost
Throughout the war, Israel has attacked Palestinian homes and tent camps, often killing large numbers of families simultaneously. Israel says it is targeting Hamas militants but has said little about who it is.
According to Gaza’s health ministry, Israeli operations have killed more than 72,000 people, nearly half of whom were women and children. The ministry, which is part of the Hamas-led government, keeps detailed casualty records that U.N. agencies and independent experts generally consider reliable, but it has not provided details on civilians and militants.
Some 8,000 people remain buried under the rubble of destroyed homes, according to the ministry. While air and ground attacks raged, retrieving most of the bodies was impossible. Recovery efforts have increased under the ceasefire but are still hampered by a lack of heavy equipment.
The Israeli action was triggered by a Hamas attack that killed about 1,200 Israelis and took more than 250 people hostage. The hostages have been released, largely as part of a ceasefire.
Nearly everyone in Gaza has lost at least one extended family member. Nearly all 2.1 million people are homeless, with most living in huge tent camps. More than 80% of the buildings in the zone have been damaged or destroyed.
The rubble landscape of what was once the Rimal district stretches around the small Ramadan table where the three surviving Yazigis eat.
Saddam Yazhi recalled the “summer table” where his family used to gather during Ramadan and how much they looked forward to the gathering every year.
“I feel like I’m betraying them by living,” he said.
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Magdi reported from Cairo.