Palestinians return to north Gaza

Shortly after returning to her home in the wealthy northern Gaza Strip, 44-year-old Sabrine Zanoun said she was overwhelmed by the mix of emotions.

“We are happy to see our family again… [but] it’s also so sad it makes you cry – the destroyed, destroyed buildings,” he told the BBC.

“People come here just to walk because of its beauty. Now it’s mostly ruins.”

Sabrine was one of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who fled their homes to return to their homes, or the ruins of their homes, in northern Gaza on Monday.

The mass return comes a week into a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas that aims to end the war that began 15 months ago.

Like others in Gaza, he was displaced several times during the war, but most recently in the central city of Deir al-Balah.

He joined a “flood of people” who walked on al-Rashid Street along the seafront – a road that was opened to Gazans early Monday morning.

A Gaza security official told AFP news agency that more than 200,000 people crossed the border north of the border on foot in a two-hour period.

Palestinians spoke to the BBC as they walked.

“It was long and tiring,” said 24-year-old Israa Shaheen, shortly after arriving in Gaza City.

“Until the middle of the street, people were happy and singing and stuff like that, but when it took longer people were getting upset. Then we came to a sign that said ‘Welcome to Gaza’ and many Palestinian flags. And people started to be happy again,” he said. .

Others traveled by car in another direction.

“There are thousands of people here. They are filling the whole road… we are very happy but I am sad that I know that I will reach Gaza City but my home is not here,” 42-year-old Wafaa Hassouna said on the phone as she approached the checkpoint.

When people arrived where they were going, they talked about their surprise at what was left in their communities.

Mohammed Imad Al-Din, a barber who was waiting at the scene, returned to find his house destroyed, and his salon looted and damaged by Israeli airstrikes.

Lubna Nassar was waiting with her two daughters and a son to meet her husband again. But when he survived, their house was gone.

“The warmth of the reunion was overshadowed by the bitter truth – we no longer have a home so we moved from a tent in the south to a tent in the north,” he said.

Others are still waiting to travel home or decide what to do.

One man said he would “run north like I was running a marathon” if it weren’t for his pregnant wife and daughter. Instead, they waited for the large crowd to pass by and slowly set off on their way home. He said he expected more of the neighborhood to be razed.

“We believe that the war will end and we will rebuild everything that was destroyed,” he said.

Another said his brother told him not to come back. He “called and said… houses have been demolished. People are sleeping on the streets and no one is helping them.”

In the affluent neighborhood of Tel al-Hawa, Sabrine said she was grateful to be back with her family and in the house that was still standing.

“It’s mostly ruins and destruction. Anyone who finds their house still standing, or even a room, should consider themselves lucky,” he said.

Additional reports by Muath Al-Khatib