For 26-year-old Nour AbuShammala, the concept of 'home' has been violently reshaped over two years of war. In October 2025, she stepped back into her family's Gaza City apartment to find rooms gutted, walls scarred by bombing, and no water or electricity. Yet, amidst the devastation, it was still home.
A Life Upended: From Promise to Peril
Before the conflict, AbuShammala was a rising star in international law. A graduate of Al-Azhar University and the Palestinian Bar Association, she had been selected for the prestigious Bertha Justice Fellowship to document violations for the International Criminal Court and had enrolled for a master's at the University of Jordan.
She lived a privileged life by Gaza's standards in a 180-square-metre, fourth-floor apartment with a sea view in southwest Gaza City with her parents, Khalil and Sahar, sister Nesma, and brother Muhammad. Her family was deeply involved in civic and human rights work.
All that changed after the Hamas attacks on 7 October 2023 and the subsequent Israeli invasion. "I had no idea what was happening. It was a shock for all of us," she recalled.
A Harrowing Journey of Six Displacements
Her story since has been one of relentless flight. On 13 October 2023, following Israeli evacuation orders, the family fled south to her late grandfather's house in Khan Younis. The city, once a place of happy childhood memories, became a symbol of loss.
In late December 2023, after leaflets warned of further attacks, they moved again to a relative's plot in al-Mawasi, sleeping five to a single 6x4-metre tent through an "unbearable" winter, cooking over open fires when gas ran out.
By 21 July 2024, they had rented an apartment in Nuseirat, central Gaza, where they stayed for nearly a year. Life there was a struggle for basics during a famine. "Imagine not even being able to find flour to make bread," AbuShammala said.
Returning to Ruin and Facing New Trauma
On 8 April 2025, she returned to Gaza City to find her home burned and hollowed out, with bullet casings and alcohol bottles left behind, suggesting Israeli soldiers had used it. "The moment I stepped back, I felt I was truly home," she said, despite the destruction.
The family began rebuilding, but tragedy struck again on 30 June. Her brother, Muhammad, was at al-Baqa café when an Israeli airstrike hit with a 500lb (230kg) bomb, killing 24 Palestinians. Muhammad survived but shrapnel shattered his legs, leaving him permanently disabled. Legal experts said the strike likely constituted a war crime.
Renewed evacuation orders in September 2025 forced another costly flight to Nuseirat, paying $1,600 (£1,200) for a two-hour truck journey that should have taken 20 minutes. They returned to Gaza City after the ceasefire announced on 10 October 2025, only to find the walls they had rebuilt already cracking from fresh bombings.
An Uncertain Future Amidst the Rubble
Now, AbuShammala balances daily survival with her hopes for the future. She works with the Stars of Hope Society, helping women with disabilities, and remains determined to resume her career in law and begin her master's in Jordan.
"There's a sense of relief, that the killing has stopped, the displacement has stopped," she said. "But at the same time, things are still very hard... There's always this fear that we'll wake up one morning and the war will start again."
She is currently writing a book about her experiences. As UN experts investigate allegations of genocide in Gaza – which Israel rejects – AbuShammala's life, like her city, remains in suspension, a testament to resilience in the face of profound loss.
