As Khaled Nabhan sifts through the wreckage of his demolished home, he tenderly clasps a doll once cherished by his granddaughter and presses a kiss to it. The only remnants remaining of his cherished grandchildren, 3-year-old Reem and 5-year-old Tarek, who tragically lost their lives while asleep in their beds last week, are their toys and precious memories.
Nabhan stated that their home was destroyed in a nearby Israeli airstrike in the Al Nuseirat refugee camp in southern Gaza. Following a pause in fighting, he has recently been able to return. Speaking to CNN from the wreckage of his home, Nabhan recounted the last evening he spent with his grandchildren, becoming emotional as he remembered how they pleaded with him to take them outside to play. He had declined due to the risk of Israeli airstrikes, he explained.
"They repeatedly asked for fruit, but there's none due to the war," he explained, holding onto the tangerine he had intended to give to Reem as a special treat, but she never got the chance to enjoy it. "All I could find were these tangerines."
As the airstrike struck, the family was fast asleep. Khaled recalled waking up in terror, desperately searching through the darkness and debris for his children and grandchildren.
"I couldnt find anyone, they were buried underneath all this rubble," he said, standing on a bed in a room full of debris.
Khaled Nabhan in his home on November 27.
CNN
Nabhan shared with CNN videos and photos of the family during happier times, capturing the children singing, laughing, and playing. One video showed Nabhan tossing his granddaughter into the air and catching her, while Reem laughed with joy. In a photo, Nabhan smiled while riding a bike, with his granddaughter sitting on the handlebars in a pretty yellow dress adorned with white flowers.
According to Nabhan, the two were always together. With their father working abroad, the family lived with their grandfather, who was Reem's entire world.
Her favorite game was pulling his beard and he would pull her piggy tails, he said.
"Ill let go, if you let go," she says giggling in a video.
In their damaged bedroom in Gaza, Nabhan directed CNN to where his daughter MaysaReem and Tarek's mother had been sleeping when their house collapsed. Although both survived, they sustained serious injuries. Maysa, speaking to CNN from a relative's home in Gaza where they are recovering, recalled the terrifying moment when she was trapped under something heavy and heard her own screams.
Maysa awoke to the devastating news that her young children had perished, their lifeless bodies discovered together under the rubble.
"At the hospital I was just numb. I hugged them, I wanted to get as many hugs as I could. No matter how much I hugged them I didnt get enough," Maysa said.
Reem Nabhan.
Courtesy of Nabhan family
For almost seven weeks, the majority of people in the Gaza Strip have been focused on survival, prioritizing finding shelter, escaping the conflict, and obtaining essential resources such as food and water.
The temporary ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has allowed numerous Gaza families to venture outside, purchase necessary supplies, and return home to gather personal belongings or provide a proper burial for their deceased relatives.
The truce has brought greater heartache for many Gazans like Nabhan as they come to terms with the extensive damage to their neighborhoods. After weeks of airstrikes and fighting, entire areas have been leveled to the ground, allowing many to witness the full extent of the devastation for the first time.
According to figures from the Palestinian Ministry of Health in the West Bank, over 14,800 Palestinians, including 6,000 children, have lost their lives in Gaza since Israel initiated its offensive in response to the Hamas attacks on October 7. These figures are based on data from Hamas-run health authorities in the Gaza Strip.
Earlier in the month, UN Secretary-General António Guterres stated that Gaza is "becoming a burial ground for children," and added that "The situation in Gaza is not just a humanitarian crisis, but a crisis of humanity."
His remarks were made four weeks after Israel declared war on Hamas, in response to the Islamist militant group's deadly terror attack on October 7th, which resulted in the deaths of 1,200 people in Israel, mostly civilians. About 240 others were also kidnapped and taken back to Gaza, making it the largest single-day attack on Israel since the country was founded in 1948.
The temporary ceasefire has brought relief and joy as the hostages released by Hamas, as part of the agreed deal last week, have finally returned to Israel. Heart-wrenching scenes unfolded as they were reunited with their families. However, there are still others who anxiously await news of their loved ones, including multiple children, who are still being held captive by militants in Gaza.
Khaled Nabhan kisses Reem's doll found in the rubble of his family's home on November 27.
CNN
Grandfather Nabhan, grieving, laments that his grandchildren were too innocent to comprehend the war that they experienced and perished in. He is not a combatant, and his family had no involvement in the war. Now, his grandchildren will never have the chance to dress up, play, or enjoy their favorite treats.
Nabhan gained international attention when a video of him bidding a tearful farewell to his lifeless 3-year-old granddaughter went viral. He shared his heart-wrenching experience of kissing her goodbye, reminiscing about the times when she would giggle as he kissed her on her cheeks and nose. He expressed his sorrow that this time, she didn't wake up.
In a separate social media video, the bodies of the two children were laid out in white shrouds, ready for burial, as Nabhan carefully styled Tarek's hair.
"I combed his hair just the way he always asked me to, like the photo he always showed me," Nabhan said. "He always loved his hair like that, and now he's gone."
Nabhan sifts through his destroyed home, gathering armfuls of colorful toys, the pain evident in his face.
"I was holding onto the hope that they were just sleeping," he lamented. "But they weren't sleeping, they're gone."
