Gaza Palestinians mark 78th Nakba amid war

Palestinians across Gaza marked the 78th anniversary of the Nakba on Friday, commemorating the mass displacement of around 750,000 people during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war that accompanied Israel's founding, even as many described the ongoing conflict as a greater catastrophe.

The event marked the third such observance since Hamas's October 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel, which killed about 1,200 people and saw militants take 251 hostages. Israel's subsequent military campaign in Gaza has killed more than 72,700 Palestinians, according to local health officials, and displaced about 90% of the territory's over 2 million residents. Most now crowd into less than half of the 25-mile-long coastal enclave, relying on aid amid tent camps plagued by rats and sewage.

Yusuf Abu Hamam, a 78-year-old survivor born in the village of al-Joura near what is now the Israeli city of Ashkelon, spoke from his heavily damaged home in Gaza City's Shati refugee camp. Al-Joura was demolished by Israeli forces in November 1948 as they advanced against Egyptian troops, preventing residents' return, military archives show. "There is no country left," Abu Hamam said. "A square kilometer and a half...