Mahmoud Ayoub is hastily packing up blankets and clothes. Like many other Palestinians, he has been living in a tent in the Nuseirat refugee camp for several months. “I am extremely happy that after 16 long months I can finally return to northern Gaza. The news of the ceasefire gives us hope”, says the 33-year-old Palestinian. Ayoub is a father of three.
“We contacted friends to ask them what happened to our house. They said it was almost completely destroyed. We don't know if we will be able to live in it. "But we will return anyway. If we can't live in the house, we will pitch a tent next to it and still live there." The family is preparing for their journey - they plan to walk home. "We don't know how it will be - whether it will be difficult or easy. The road is long - about seven kilometers," says Mahmoud, who is worried about how his children will cope.
Palestinian return to the north delayed
On Sunday, thousands of Palestinians were waiting to be allowed into the northern part of the enclave. The crossing on foot was supposed to be possible under the terms of the truce signed between Israel and the Islamist group Hamas. Israel, however, blocked the crossing, accusing Hamas of violating the terms of the agreement by not releasing Israeli hostage Arbel Yehud.
Qatar later said that an agreement had been reached between the two sides and that Yehud would be released on Thursday, along with two other Israeli hostages. Three others would be released on Saturday, as originally planned. In exchange, Israel would release Palestinians from prison.
After the additional clause to the agreement, Israel allowed displaced people from the southern Gaza Strip to return to the north, passing through the Netzarim corridor, which the Israeli army controls. The thoroughfare divides the enclave in two. After thousands crossed the corridor on foot on Monday morning, cars were allowed in, but were subject to thorough checks.
Some Palestinians who were not allowed to cross over the weekend pitched their tents where they were stopped and waited for a crossing to open. “For the past two days, we have been sleeping in the open air, waiting for the Israeli army to open the Netzarim crossing so we can return to northern Gaza and see what is left of our destroyed homes. If anything is left,” said Rizek Ayoub, who was waiting to cross the border with his relatives.
For some, the return is joyous, for others, tragic
Despite everything, the atmosphere is upbeat, says Amani Zahd, who is returning to her neighborhood in Gaza City. “It’s terrible and it’s strange. So many people are happy. Despite all their suffering, they carry happiness within them, I can feel it,” she told DW. “I am convinced that the future will be better.”
Others are returning with pain - and not just because they lost their homes. Tamer al-Farani, an employee of a local NGO, says he hopes to bury his relatives who are trapped under the rubble of the bombed house they lived in. “I lost contact with my sister, her husband and their four children on December 1, 2024. At that time, they were in the house in the Tal al-Za’atar area of Jabaliya camp,” al-Farani says.
People are still under the rubble
His sister and her family were displaced several times before settling in the refugee camp. "Two weeks later, we heard from other people that the building they were in had been completely destroyed and everyone who was there had died. It was a four-story building, many of the dead are still buried under the rubble," the man said.
Returning north, he hopes to pull his loved ones out of the rubble: "They told us that the civil defense doesn't have the equipment, but if necessary, we will pull them out with our hands," the 27-year-old said. He hopes to be able to bury his loved ones with dignity.
The Civil Defense in the Gaza Strip said that "based on information provided by citizens, they have recorded the names and locations of hundreds of people who have disappeared." However, finding bodies is difficult and progress is very slow due to a lack of equipment.
6,800 people are still missing
The International Red Cross, which has opened a hotline to search for missing people, reports that 9,200 cases of missing people have been reported since the start of the war in October 2023 until the end of 2024. Of these, 6,800 are still being searched for.
The Israeli army may have detained some of the people it is seeking, while others may have been killed. Some children who were separated from their families are now being reunited with their loved ones. “We want to heal our wounds, to rebuild our lives,” al-Farani said. “The loss is immense, so many people are gone. But we have to find a way to start over.”
Author: Tanya Kremer