A green bird named Bico, a torn soccer ball, a gold ring and heart-shaped letters from a schoolmate – these are some of the items Palestinians have carried with them as they were forced to flee their homes during the two-year war in Gaza.
Following the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, people are returning to their devastated neighborhoods. Many find nothing but rubble and memories buried beneath.
The BBC spoke to several residents about the items - from sentimental to seemingly insignificant - that they have chosen to always keep with them, despite the dangers.
“For me, my pets are my soul,” a woman from Gaza says. “Wherever I go, they come with me. I treat them like my own child.”
She says her house was destroyed and she currently lives in her mother's apartment with her son. The damage there is also extensive, but she says she considers herself lucky compared to others.
"I was displaced several times during the war. There were days when we were on the streets without any shelter, until some good men gave us a tent. This war has humiliated us, broken us."
She says she has several turtles and a parrot named Bico – a rose-ringed parakeet. “When I talk to him, he talks back. He laughs at me. And my cat, Luca – when I start crying, he comes and cries with me. I named him Luca because I got him by luck – I found him on the street, covered in bugs.”
In a place where everything is lost, even a cat, a bird, or an old ball can become a symbol of hope and resilience.
