Exhausted Palestinians arrive in Gaza City to no homes, killed family

On Rashid Street in the Gaza Strip, thousands of people are heading north, each with their own story. Among them is an elderly man with a white beard, resolutely moving forward with his family. He holds a blanket and a few belongings in one hand, and tightly grasps the hand of his adult son with Down syndrome in the other.

Rifaat Judah doesn't hide his exhaustion. He started his journey in the morning from Khan Yunis in southern Gaza, where his family had been displaced for 15 months during Israel's war on Gaza. Their destination is Gaza City, a journey that became possible after Israel allowed Palestinians in the southern Gaza Strip to travel north on Monday, following a ceasefire agreement on January 19.

It's a long walk, about 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) along the coastal road, and Rifaat's family had to stop for rest every hour. "The journey was exhausting and very difficult," Rifaat told Al Jazeera after finally arriving in Gaza City, "Nevertheless, we were determined to return."

Rifaat is unsure of his plans upon returning home. His home in northern Gaza City no longer exists, having been destroyed in an Israeli attack in October. "They (Rifaat's contacts in Gaza City) say the situation is very difficult, there is no water, no services, and destruction everywhere," Rifaat said, "But what difference does it make? We are going from a difficult situation to an even more difficult one. We will rebuild what we can. But (the return journey) lifted our spirits and rekindled our hope."

Fifteen months before the war began, most of Gaza's population lived in the north, centered around Gaza City, the largest urban area in the Gaza Strip. But this is precisely where Israel focused its attacks, issuing mandatory evacuation orders early in the war, demanding people flee to "safe zones" in central and southern Gaza. This led to the displacement of most of Gaza's approximately 2.3 million people to the central and southern regions, below what Israel calls the Netzarim Corridor in central Gaza.

Although the destruction in the northern areas is overwhelming – about 74% of the buildings in Gaza City were damaged or destroyed during the war – the so-called safe zones were not spared, and the areas where people fled were also damaged. 50% of the buildings in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza were damaged or destroyed, while in southern Gaza, 55% of the buildings in Khan Yunis and 48% of the buildings in Rafah were damaged or destroyed.

Continuous Israeli attacks – which have killed at least 47,300 people throughout the war – have forced Palestinians to flee from one place to another, and have left many feeling that they should never have left Gaza City and the north in the first place. "The days of displacement were the most difficult and exhausting," Rifaat said, "We cannot imagine continuing to live as displaced people far from our homes."

"Anyone who sees these crowds clearly knows that (any plan for forced displacement will not succeed), no matter what happens," he added, before suggesting that he might even be able to return to Ashdod – a city north of Gaza but now part of Israel – from which his family was forcibly displaced during the Nakba, which Palestinians call the "catastrophe" of 1948 when Israel was founded. Displacement is a central theme for Palestinians, stemming from the 1948 Nakba, when at least 750,000 Palestinians were forced to leave their homes. Many in Gaza are themselves refugees whose families originally came from towns and villages that are now part of Israel. Therefore, especially after experiencing the current war in Gaza, many regret ever leaving their homes in the north.

Sami Dabagh, 39, is returning to Sheikh Radwan in northern Gaza, explaining that he was displaced to several different areas, finally settling in central Gaza. The father of four said after walking for hours that he will never make the same mistake again. "No matter what happens, we will not repeat the experience of displacement," Dabagh said. Radwan Ajjour, another man heading to northern Gaza, expressed the same sentiment. "Displacement has taught us never to leave our homes again," he said, carrying luggage on his shoulder. The 45-year-old father of eight had been living in Deir al-Balah, but like Dabagh, he is also from Sheikh Radwan. "The feeling of returning is indescribable, especially since the situation in the north and south is not much different," he said.

The conversations on Rashid Street are brief – the people walking here have been walking for hours, trying to keep track of their families, helping those weaker than themselves, and carrying the few items they were able to retain after more than a year of war and displacement. But the shared details reveal the losses suffered by Palestinians in Gaza. Khaled Ibrahim, 52, from Khan Yunis, is heading to Beit Lahia in northern Gaza City. His family – he has four children – has no home to return to. He plans to put up a tent instead.

But more importantly, he lost those closest to him; Ibrahim's wife, granddaughter, and his two brothers were killed in an explosion near their tent in Khan Yunis last June. "Our lives are difficult. We have lost everything in every way," Ibrahim said. Another returnee, Nada Jajuh, also lost family members. One of her sons was killed in the Great March of Return in Gaza in 2018, before the war began. Another son was killed in an Israeli attack in May. She now has only one son and one grandson left – whom she holds as she walks. "We are exhausted, both physically and mentally," Jajuh said, "Without my sons, I feel very sad. My joy is incomplete."