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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Sam Metz and Sam Mednick

‘It’s like coming back from the grave’: Palestinian family divided between Israel and Gaza finally reunited

Mais Al-Gharam hugs her 8-year-old sister Arjwan, who was granted an Israeli passport, in her home in Nazareth, Israel, Wednesday, July 8, 2026, after Arjwan's arrival from the Gaza Strip. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean) -

The last time Mais al-Gharam saw her seven siblings was in the Gaza Strip two months before the war. That was before she left the Palestinian territory to go live in Israel and before an Israeli airstrike on the family's home killed her parents and younger brother.

But on this day, she waited hopefully outside Israel’s Kerem Shalom crossing, scanning for a glimpse of her surviving brothers and sisters as they made their way through the gates and out of Gaza.

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