In the early hours of the morning, Mu’ayyad Ajjour and his neighbor, Mohamed Zaida, commenced their daily search in Gaza City. Following the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas that started in October, the duo has been on a quest to uncover the remains of Ajjour’s five-year-old cousin, Masa, buried under the wreckage of the building where she and her family sought refuge.
Ajjour, aged 37, secured ropes onto a black mixing bowl while 17-year-old Zaida ventured into a deep crevice within the rubble that he had excavated. Using rudimentary tools fashioned into a makeshift pulley system, Zaida would guide the bowl along the tunnel, filling it with debris before signaling Ajjour to retrieve it and sift through using a fan cover.
The atmosphere was hushed, punctuated only by the scraping of the bowl against the rubble. The building, a three-story structure struck by an airstrike in March 2024, loomed precariously over Zaida as he toiled in his unstable tunnel propped up by concrete blocks. Despite the imminent threat of collapse, Zaida persisted in the hope of locating any trace of the child’s remains.
Masa’s body is just one among numerous others believed to be entombed beneath the crumbled edifices across the area post the two-year conflict. With the ceasefire holding fragilely in Gaza, families are fervently searching for their loved ones using whatever tools they can gather to accord them a proper burial.
During a frantic call on a Saturday morning, Masa’s mother and grandfathers were informed by searchers of a discovery — a skull and garments matching Masa’s description. The uncovered remains, including a skull with hair tufts, a ruby earring, and a tattered pink sweater, were tenderly wrapped in a white blanket.
“We were taken aback when they confirmed finding her body,” remarked Karim Al-Suwaireki, Masa’s maternal grandfather, upon examining her remains. “Thankfully, we could identify Masa.”
Ajjour, a member of the search team, expressed that the sight would move even stones, as he rejoiced in locating the young girl, finally enabling her a dignified burial.