Khaberni - In the devastated city of Gaza, some displaced families have decided to take refuge in the home of the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, which was partially damaged by Israeli air strikes.
Scenes captured by AFP show that the house, which was turned into a museum after the death of the historic Palestinian leader in 2004, still contains murals that commemorate his memory, and it is surrounded by rubble.
On a metal door facing the street, a picture of Yasser Arafat wearing his traditional keffiyeh and sunglasses is hung, with the current President of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas in the background.
The building, located in the Rimal neighborhood near the port of Gaza City, was damaged by Israeli bombing during a war that lasted two years, which broke out following an unprecedented attack by Hamas on southern Israel, on October 7, 2023.
Ashraf Nafez Abu Salem, a university professor displaced by the fighting, decided to clean up the house he found "filled with debris and rubble" and to settle there with his family.
The man made the decision after returning to his neighborhood only to find that "the house can't be rebuilt, as the infrastructure is destroyed and diseases are widespread," so he decided to take refuge in Arafat's house "temporarily until we find a place to rent that can shelter us."
