Twenty years after Israel’s disengagement from Gaza, former residents of Gush Katif,  including many who were evacuated as children in 2005, are now returning as reserve soldiers.

The mission has stirred deep memories, blending the stark reality of war with the lingering sense of home.

Gal Cohen, 28, was seven when his family left Nisanit. Now patrolling the same beaches of his youth, he told fellow soldiers, “This is where I grew up. Back then, I was a kid playing in the sand. Now I’m here on a security mission.”