With a sieve and for two years.. a Palestinian collects the remains of his family from under the rubble of his home in Gaza

In a destroyed house in the Sabra neighborhood, south of Gaza City, Palestinian Mahmoud Hammad has been searching for more than two years for the remains of his wife, her fetus, and his six children, all of whom were martyred in an Israeli occupation bombing. It is a harsh mission, only comparable to the magnitude of the tragedy Hammad experienced, as he is the sole survivor of the massacre that occurred when the family's home was targeted in the first months of the war in late 2023, in which his brother, his wife, and their six children were also martyred.

Hammad still suffers from injuries due to that targeting to this day, in the absence of treatment and healthcare. He affirms that that day "destroyed his entire life," as he emerged injured and remained alone after losing his entire family.

After successfully retrieving and burying the remains of his brother and his family, Hammad returned to the rubble of his home to search for what remained of his wife and children using primitive tools, such as a "sieve."

Hammad said that sources used the sieve at the beginning of the war to sift flour from dirt to feed children, adding, "But today I use it to collect the remains of my wife and children."

He pointed out that he descends to depths of up to 9 meters underground, using an axe, a hammer, and hand tools, with limited help from neighbors and relatives, before beginning to sift the sand and dirt in search of the bones of his wife and children.

He explained that with every piece he finds, he sends its photos to specialized doctors to determine if it belongs to his wife or her fetus, who was martyred in her womb, clarifying, "When I saw the bones of the fetus, I was sure that my wife was martyred while pregnant."

He affirmed his refusal of any assistance to fund this arduous task despite the exorbitant cost of using electrical equipment in light of the scarcity of electricity and its high prices, explaining, "I sold everything I own, but this blood is not for sale."

Regarding the reason for his insistence on continuing despite two years of pain, Hammad stressed that what he is doing is a moral duty, affirming, "The least loyalty to my wife and children is to bury them with dignity," noting that he will continue searching until the last speck of dust in his home.

Hammad considered that his story represents one of thousands of similar stories in Gaza, where the bodies of thousands of martyrs are still under the rubble, asking, "If I am doing this alone, who will retrieve the children of thousands of other families?"