GAZA Reuters - The emotional reunion of twin brothers in Gaza after Israel allowed movement within the enclave as part of a ceasefire deal provided a visceral image of Palestinian survival after 15 gruelling months of death, separation and destruction.
Video of the twins' ecstatic, tearful embrace amid the crowds of people trekking home a week ago from displacement camps was widely viewed around the world.
But Ibrahim and Mahmoud al-Atout had both endured loss and hardship that tinged the joy of their reunion. It's like the soul returned to the chest, the soul returned to the heart," said one of the year-old twins, Mahmoud, speaking about their experience days later in a video obtained by Reuters.
The two men, from the Jabalia area of northern Gaza, were split up early in the conflict that began when Hamas militants attacked Israel on Oct. The Israeli military campaign in Gaza killed more than 47, people, according to Palestinian health authorities, and levelled much of the enclave. Early on, Israel ordered civilians to leave the north, where its military operations were most intense, but not everybody did so. Those who did travel south were barred from returning until last week as part of the deal for a ceasefire and hostage release.
Ibrahim had ended up in the south, while Mahmoud stayed in the north. When news came late one night that he could go back to Jabalia, Ibrahim phoned Mahmoud, who quickly dressed and rushed to a meeting point on a main road into northern Gaza.
