After celebrations, displaced Gazans return home to destruction

Columns of people hundreds strong were making their way home in northern Gaza on Sunday, flanked on both sides by countless buildings turned to rubble, as a ceasefire took effect in the Palestinian territory.

In places, they crossed an ashen landscape heaped with pulverized concrete and studded with the skeletons of ruined buildings.

They walked towards the northern city of Jabalia in a haze of dust raised by the movement of hundreds of feet and vehicles over sandy soil on roads stripped of their paving.

In parts where the pavement remained, it was covered by layers of dust and debris.

"We came here at six in the morning to find massive, unprecedented destruction," said Walid Abu Jiab, a displaced Gazan who returned to his home in Jabalia.

"There is nothing left in the north worth living for," he told AFP.

On either side of the road, former apartment buildings lay collapsed after months of Israeli shelling and air strikes during a military operation focused intently on the north of the Palestinian territory.

The Israeli military began an intensive campaign in northern Gaza, including Jabalia, in early October 2023, saying it aimed to keep Hamas fighters from regrouping there after another operation in the south.

After initially surrounding Jabalia, the military urged civilians across northern areas to evacuate. Those who stayed endured some of the war's most devastating airstrikes and a stringent aid blockade in Gaza.

Rana Mohsen, who was displaced from Jabalia to Gaza city, said she didn't wait for the official start of the ceasefire.

"We've been waiting for this moment for 16 months," said the 43-year-old mother of three.

"My joy is indescribable. We are finally in our home. There is no home left, just rubble, but it's our home. We are lucky because part of the roof is still intact," she told AFP.

"The extent of the destruction is unimaginable. Buildings and landmarks have completely disappeared, as if it were a ghost town or abandoned cities."

AFP