The emotional reunion of twin brothers in Gaza after Israel allowed movement within the enclave as part of a ceasefire deal provided a visceral image of Palestinian survival after 15 gruelling months of death, separation and destruction. Video of the twins' ecstatic, tearful embrace amid the crowds of people trekking home a week ago from displacement camps was widely viewed around the world. But Ibrahim and Mahmoud al-Atout had both endured loss and hardship that tinged the joy of their reunion. "I didn't want to let go of him. It's like the soul returned to the chest, the soul returned to the heart," said one of the 30-year-old twins, Mahmoud, speaking about their experience days later in a video obtained by Reuters. The two men, from the Jabalia area of northern Gaza, were split up early in the conflict which began when Hamas militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and seizing about 250 hostages according to Israeli tallies. The Israeli military campaign in Gaza killed mor