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Some Palestinians are choosing to get married in Gaza despite the devastation of 200 days of war, with the mass displacement of people bringing some couples together.
Emad Halawa had been searching for a wife before the war began and is one of many Gazans who has decided to marry despite the circumstances.
"Before the war, I was looking for a suitable girl to marry," he told The National. "My mother visited several houses in search of a match but it wasn't destined for me to get married before the war."
He was working as an electronic programmer when the war broke out in October.
Six of Mr Halawa's family members were subsequently killed, which he said had sapped his will to get married.
But things changed when he met Mona Al Masry, and the couple are soon to get married.
They were brought together amid the mass displacement of about 1.9 million people, more than 85 per cent of the population of Gaza.
200 days of war in Gaza – in pictures
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Palestinians move with their belongings on a road lined with destroyed buildings, in Khan Younis, in the south of the Gaza Strip, on April 22. AFP -
An infant saved from the womb of her mother Sabreen Al Sheikh, who was killed in an Israeli strike along with her husband Shokri and her daughter Malak, lies in an incubator at Al Emirati hospital in Rafah, on April 21. Reuters -
A man rides a bicycle, on April 2, past a damaged vehicle where employees from the World Central Kitchen non-profit, including foreigners, were killed in an Israeli air strike. Reuters -
A woman at the damaged Al Shifa Hospital, on April 1, after Israeli forces withdrew from the medical complex following a two-week siege. Reuters -
The view from a Jordanian flight dropping vital aid by parachute into Gaza, in March. Matthew Kynaston / The National -
Nozha Awad flees Al Shifa hospital with her triplet children, after an Israeli raid siege began at the medical complex, in March. Reuters -
Palestinians gather to receive aid outside a UNRWA warehouse, in March. Reuters -
A family end their fast amid the rubble of their destroyed home, during Ramadan in Rafah, in March. Reuters -
Wafaa Tabasi with her twin malnourished daughters, at Al Awda health centre in Rafah, in March. Reuters -
Palestinians carry bags of flour taken from an aid lorry near an Israeli checkpoint in Gaza City, in February. Reuters -
Fernando Simon Marman and Louis Hare, two Israeli hostages who, according to the Israeli military, were freed in a special forces operation in Rafah, reunite with loved ones at Sheba Medical Centre, in Ramat Gan, Israel, in February. Reuters -
Palestinian Muhammad Al Durra with his children in the ruins of a house in Rafah where they sheltered on January 11, 2024. EPA -
Family and friends at the funerals of journalists Hamza Al Dahdouh and Mustafa Thuraya on January 7, 2024 in Rafah, Gaza. Getty Images -
Palestinians mourn relatives killed by Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip outside a mortuary in Khan Younis January 4, 2024. AP Photo -
Displaced Palestinians queue to bake bread at a camp in the Muwasi area of Rafah, Gaza Strip, on December 23, 2023. AP Photo -
Palestinians queue for food in Rafah, the Gaza Strip, on December 20, 2023. AP Photo -
The ruins of Rafah on December 14, 2023. AFP -
Palestinians wounded in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip arrive at a hospital in Khan Younis on December 8, 2023. AP Photo -
Palestinians flee Israeli bombing along the Salaheddine Road in the Zeitoun district of Gaza city on November 28, 2023. AFP -
A Red Cross vehicle takes Israeli hostages from the Gaza Strip into Egypt in Rafah on November 25, 2023. AP -
The ruins of buildings in Gaza city on November 24, 2023, as a temporary truce between Israel and Hamas took effect. AP Photo -
A woman and her cat return home to eastern Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip during the first hours of a four-day truce between Israel and Hamas forces on November 24, 2023. AFP -
Mourning the dead of Israeli bombardment outside the mortuary at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis on November 14, 2023. AFP -
Civilians and rescuers look for survivors in the rubble of a building after Israeli bombing of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on November 12, 2023. AFP -
November 7, 2023, a month to the day after Hamas attacked Israel, a victim of an Israeli bombardment in Rafah is moved from the rubble. AFP -
Searching the rubble after Israeli air strikes on the town of Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on October 26, 2023. AP Photo -
Mourning the Kotz family at their funeral in Gan Yavne, Israel, on October 17, 2023. AP Photo -
An Israeli firefighter composes himself after he and his colleagues extinguished cars set on fire by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip in Ashkelon, Israel, on October 9, 2023. AP Photo -
Palestinians with the wreckage of an Israeli tank at the Gaza Strip fence east of the city of Khan Younis on October 7, 2023, the day Hamas forces swept unopposed into Israel. AP Photo -
Israeli police officers evacuate a woman and a child from a site hit by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip, in Ashkelon, southern Israel, on October 7, 2023. AP Photo
Mr Halawa's mother's friend, who was displaced from Gaza city by the war, visited his family home in Beit Lahia with her 23-year-old daughter Mona, who caught his eye.
"I saw Mona and found her appealing, sparking the thought that she could potentially be a suitable match for me," he said.
Despite the challenging and uncertain situation, Mr Halawa had already made financial preparations for marriage before the war and, after meeting Mona, decided to pursue the goal he had put on hold.
"I asked my mother for permission to propose to Mona," he said. "She was surprised by my request but I explained to her that the war seemed protracted."
Mona accepted his proposal and official documents were arranged to formalise the marriage.
Despite limited resources, they even managed to gather relatives to celebrate their engagement. However, there were no songs, out of respect for the hardships Palestinians are facing.
“Honestly, I never imagined getting married under such circumstances but this is my fate," he said. "Hopefully, our joy will mark the beginning of alleviated burdens."
Mr Halawa and his fiance plan to have their wedding in four months, hoping the war will have ended by then so they can hold a larger ceremony.
Shireen Al Kafarna, 20, had "sky-high" aspirations, with dreams of graduating from university and living independently before the war shattered her plans.
She is one of thousands of displaced people sheltering in schools run by UNRWA, the UN agency working for Palestinian refugees. She is now in Jabalia in Gaza's north, after her home in Beit Hanoun was destroyed.
In an unexpected turn of events, she received a marriage proposal from a displaced man living in the same UN school.
"Initially, I refused because I couldn't picture myself getting engaged under such circumstances," Ms Al Kafarna told The National.
But after talking it through with her family, Ms Kafarna accepted the proposal from Mohammad Qassim, a 26-year-old former schoolteacher from Beit Hanoun who now works as a trader.
Having lost several family members, she said she has been struggling to be happy but is determined to turn this around.
"We held the engagement ceremony inside one of the school classrooms and those around us were delighted with this decision, offering their support and encouragement," she said.
Ms Al Kafarna said she hopes to continue her education after the war ends.
"Mohammad has encouraged me to pursue my dreams," she said. "In the end, the war brought something positive for me and allowed me to meet Mohammad."
