As Abdel Fattah al-Kurdi made the long journey back to Gaza City, he found himself getting lost. Though he left the city just a few weeks ago, he could no longer recognise its streets. The buildings he had grown up in between had collapsed, their contents carpeting the roads in a mixture of torn furniture and broken concrete.
Al-Kurdi could only recognise the Netzarim checkpoint marking his entry into north Gaza by the bodies lying at its feet – those who had tried to return home too early, their faces obscured by dust after being cut down by Israeli fire.
