Lives Ended in Gaza – The New York Times

She and her twin sister had names that rhymed. She loved to adorn her outfits with colorful accessories and relished the attention she and her sister received from neighbors. She was killed in a strike on her family’s building. Her sister, Marah, survived, as did their father and mother, who gave birth to a third daughter a few weeks later. They named her Farah. Farah Alkhatib, 12

The older sister loved Kinder chocolate, Pringles and strawberry juice. The younger loved to play with a plastic jeep embellished with a duck. Siwar and Selena al-Raiss, 3 years and 21 months

He was close with his father and tagged along with his mother to the gym where she worked as a trainer. She called him “medallion,” because he was always hanging on his parents. He wanted to be a doctor, like his father. Yousef Abu Moussa, 6

She was a top student who liked to draw nature scenes, rollerblade and jump on her trampoline. During the war, she played teacher to her siblings and cousins to distract them. She was killed in a strike that destroyed her family’s home. Her sister, Leen, 8, died four days later, trapped in the rubble. Nada Abdulhadi, 10

She was the center of attention. Her mother, Maram, loved to dress her up for pictures. She was killed in October. Her mother was killed in a separate strike 11 days later. Youmna Shaqalih, 4 months

In the two years before the war, she earned a university degree in software engineering, got married and became pregnant with her first child. She was killed alongside her husband before the baby was born. Ghadeer Mohammed Mansour, 24

She worked in graphic design to help support her family while studying multimedia at a Gaza university. She hoped to teach there one day. Jannat Iyad Abu Zbeada, 21

He had a degree in business administration but took construction jobs he hated and helped his family fish off Gaza’s Mediterranean coast. He loved soccer and supported F.C. Barcelona. His life’s longest trip took about an hour, a drive to a friend’s wedding elsewhere in Gaza. Rami Abu Reyaleh, 32

She raised five children — four boys and a girl — who gave her 15 grandchildren. She was set to leave Gaza for the first time, to visit Turkey with her husband to see two of their adult sons and their families. She had packed several suitcases with traditional Palestinian foods: olive oil, a spice mix called za’atar and local greens used to make stew. But the war broke out three days before the trip. She never left. Faida AlKrunz, 60

His parents were displaced to Gaza from what became Israel in 1948. He never finished high school but worked to support his 12 siblings. His experience gave him an enduring faith in education for his five children, to make sure they had better lives. Later, he mediated family conflicts, often siding with his sons’ wives over his sons. He was killed in October alongside his wife, Faida (above), and nine of their children and grandchildren. Saud AlKrunz, 61

He was a car mechanic who loved to tinker, including making the gate to his family’s home automatic. He left Gaza only once, for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, where his brother lived. He didn’t know how to scan his passport at the airport. It was his first time on an airplane. “Everything was new to him,” his brother said. Ahmed Abu Shaeera, 39

An Islamic scholar, he preached at Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, a holy site cherished by Palestinians. He later served as the minister of religious affairs for the Palestinian Authority and remained committed to Jerusalem. “Palestine has no value without Jerusalem, which is the pearl of Palestine, and Jerusalem has no value without Al Aqsa,” he said. Youssef Salama, 69

Born into a refugee family and a member of Gaza’s Greek Orthodox Christian minority, he lived through several wars but still believed that all humans, including the Israelis who occupied and imposed a blockade on Gaza, were created in God’s image. He fondly recalled working as a bank accountant in Israel decades ago and thought it was still possible for the peoples of the Holy Land to live together. He died from an undiagnosed health crisis after clashes prevented him from reaching a hospital. Jeries Sayegh, 67

While studying law, he hosted planning meetings and designed banners for protests under the slogan “We Want to Live,” which criticized Hamas’s governance of Gaza and called for better living conditions. But reflecting the complex views many Gazans hold toward Hamas, he lauded “the men of the resistance” on Oct. 7. “Officially, today is the greatest day in our generation’s entire life.” Sayel Al-Hinnawi, 22

She made paintings in bold colors about Palestinian themes, showing mosques and churches side by side and the Old City of Jerusalem, which she was never able to visit. She had four sons, supported her family as an art teacher and was trying to put on her first exhibition. Heba Zagout, 38

He performed complicated operations on Gaza’s war wounded while running Abu Yousef Al-Najjar Hospital in Rafah until his retirement. His wife, also a doctor, died of cancer, and he dealt with loneliness by hosting large meals to bring people into his home. Dr. Abdallah Shehada, 69

A member of Gaza’s Greek Orthodox Christian minority, he studied aviation engineering in Egypt and worked for airlines in Libya and Uganda before returning to Gaza and managing an aid program for the United Nations. He lived near the sea and swam often when the weather was warm. He sheltered with other Christians in a church during the war and died after clashes prevented him from reaching a hospital after his gallbladder ruptured. Farajallah Tarazi, 80

She was a physical therapist who was working toward certification to teach yoga to other women. She dreamed of visiting Ireland. Heba Jourany, 29 (center)

He opened his first marble workshop in his garage and expanded his business to produce marble and granite countertops, sinks and stairs at a factory in Gaza City. He raised pigeons and goats. Osama Al-Haddad, 50

He worked in factories and on construction sites in Israel before the Gaza blockade and spoke fondly of that time, saying he wished the situation would improve so that he could go back. In the meantime, he loved to sit in the sun, smoke cigarettes and drink tea with so much sugar that it became a family joke. Riyad Alkhatib, 58

The father of the child violinist, he worked for the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority, coordinating rare treatment outside Gaza for patients with serious illnesses. He told friend, “There is something beautiful in Gaza despite everything that happens.” Mahmoud Elian, 47