Displaced Palestinians arriving in Gaza City on Monday night described exhaustion and despair after trekking to northern Gaza on foot. Many said they had no choice but to sleep on the streets, lacking shelter or the strength to continue their journey. Others waited anxiously for family members lost in the chaotic crowds during the return.
Tens of thousands streamed along Gaza’s main roads, jubilant at the prospect of returning home after months of displacement in temporary shelters. Yet, their joy was tempered by fear of what might remain of their homes, now reduced to bombed-out ruins.
The return followed an agreement for a ceasefire in the 15-month war between Israel and Hamas. Hamas pledged to release three Israeli hostages this week, and Israeli forces began withdrawing from a key corridor across Gaza.
The conflict, which began after Hamas launched an attack on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023—killing 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli accounts—displaced an estimated 650,000 Palestinians from northern Gaza. In response, Israeli airstrikes and ground operations have devastated much of the territory, with the Gaza Health Ministry reporting over 47,000 Palestinian deaths.
On Monday, Gaza’s Hamas authorities stated that more than 300,000 people had crossed into Gaza City and the northern parts of the enclave.
For many displaced families, the return is bittersweet. Much of Gaza lies in ruins, and the destruction of homes and infrastructure leaves survivors facing an uncertain future. The Hamas-run Gaza government’s media office said that over 135,000 tents and shelters are urgently needed for returnees attempting to rebuild their lives in the rubble-strewn remnants of their communities.
Over the course of the conflict, thousands of displaced Palestinians were forced to move repeatedly as areas designated as humanitarian zones by Israel were later cleared for bombardments or ground operations. Now, as they return to what was once home, they face a long and arduous road to recovery in a landscape that bears the scars of relentless war.
