Palestinian couple flee Israeli attacks, marry in tent city in Deir al-Balah

DEIR AL-BALAH, PALESTINE - APRIL 12, 2024: A displaced Palestinian couple married among makeshift tents in Deir al-Balah on Friday (April 12).Mahmoud al-Shawwa and his fiance Siham Alwan had been forced to flee Gaza owing to Israeli attacks.The couple's wedding took place among makeshift tents in Palestine's Deir al-Balah Province, with the participation of their close circle."I would like to have a dowry like every young girl, I would like to have my own house, not a tent. The war destroyed everything we had, it destroyed our dreams and joys,” said bride Alwan.Israel has waged a military offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7 cross-border attack by the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, which killed less than 1,200 people.Nearly 33,700 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the war began.Israel has also imposed a crippling blockade on the seaside enclave, leaving its population, particularly residents of northern Gaza, on the verge of starvation.The war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while much of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed.Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which has urged it to do more to prevent famine in Gaza.(Footage by Baher Hamed Alnahhal/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)