A Gaza teen spent last Eid surrounded by her family. Now, she's collecting their bones.
Eid al-Fitr would normally be a time of feasts and family gatherings. In Gaza, ravaged by six months of war with Israel, celebrations are muted.
It would normally be a time of feasts and family gatherings, with children dressed in new clothes and given money. This year, Seraj al-Najjar, 19, spent the Eid al-Fitr festival collecting the bones of her relatives from the rubble of her former home in Gaza’s southern city of Khan Younis.
With the sun beating down, she picked her way through the debris, dragging a sack containing the remains of family members for whom she hopes to provide a proper burial.
“Last Eid, six of my uncles came and visited me. It was pure happiness,” Najjar told an NBC News crew Tuesday, choking back tears.
This year, before millions of Muslims around the world began three days of festivities Wednesday to mark the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, Najjar said she would mourn the deaths of 25 family members, including her father, Mazen al Najjar, who were killed in Israeli shelling Dec. 5.
Siraj al-Najjar, 19, searches through the rubble of homes in Khan Younis looking for the remains of relatives.NBC NewsNajjar was among a trickle of Palestinians who returned to Khan Younis after Israel announced it had withdrawn its forces Sunday after months of fierce fighting and bombardment.
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