For the first time in over a year, tens of thousands of Palestinians have reached their homes in the northern Gaza Strip, giving way to a mix of elation and despair.
On Tuesday, throughout Gaza City, people had emotional reunions with family members who had remained in northern Gaza during the war. But the return home was also shocking and depressing: Israel’s bombing campaign had flattened entire neighborhoods, making them barely recognizable piles of rubble.
“We’re overcome with joy — we’re finally in our neighborhood near friends and family after a year living on the sidewalk and the sand,” said Rajab al-Sindawi, 49, a salesman of secondhand clothing from Gaza City who had traveled to Rafah, Deir al Balah and Nuseirat after leaving the north. “But our home is gone and it feels like our future is gone, too.”
The mass return to northern Gaza began after Israeli troops withdrew from Gaza’s coastal road on Monday under the terms of the cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, allowing displaced people to move north.
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from northern Gaza had fled south at the start of Israel’s military offensive against Hamas. For nearly 16 months, they lived in tents, makeshift shelters, schools and the homes of friends and relatives.
For now, Mr. al-Sindawi, his wife and their seven children are staying at his parents’ home, which survived the war but lacks water and power.
As he walked for five hours on Monday from Nuseirat in central Gaza to Gaza City, Mr. al-Sindawi passed one demolished building after another, he said, which made him wonder how long Gaza would take to rebuild.
“The whole city is wrecked,” he said of Gaza City. “It will be years before we get our house back.”
Northern Gaza was one of the places in the coastal enclave hit hardest during the war. It was where the Israeli military had focused its campaign in the initial aftermath of the Hamas-led October 2023 attack on southern Israel that left roughly 1,200 people dead and 250 others taken hostage. Israeli forces caused immense damage to apartment blocks, hospitals and schools — places Israel accused Hamas militants of exploiting for military purposes and using to hide among civilians.
With the ubiquitous destruction, northern Gaza badly needed tents and temporary housing units, according to Samah Hamad, the Palestinian Authority’s social development minister.
Tens of thousands of tents awaited Israel’s approval to enter Gaza, said Ms. Hamad, who has been involved in the Palestinian Authority’s efforts to send relief to the territory. While the authority, based in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, doesn’t control Gaza, it has some active employees there.
“These tents need to reach the people immediately,” she said in an interview.
Under the terms of the initial phase of the cease-fire deal, at least 60,000 temporary housing units and 200,000 tents are supposed to enter Gaza. COGAT, the Israeli government agency responsible for coordinating the delivery of aid to Gaza, said tens of thousands of tents had entered the territory in the past two weeks, including 15 truckloads to northern Gaza in the past day.
On Tuesday, Majed al-Ansari, a spokesman for the foreign ministry of Qatar, which has acted as a mediator in the cease-fire talks alongside Egypt, said there were challenges related to the kind of relief that was entering Gaza and the areas it was reaching.
“The entry of aid is not an easy issue,” he told reporters.
Thousands of trucks carrying humanitarian relief have entered Gaza since the start of the cease-fire, but aid workers have said that much more was needed to meet the needs of the population.
The cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas hit some snags over the weekend, but Mr. al-Ansari said he did not believe there had not been a “real violation” of the agreement that could lead to an escalation.
On Saturday, Israel said it would prevent the movement of Palestinians to the north of Gaza until plans were set for the release of Arbel Yehud, one of the last civilian women in captivity in Gaza. Israeli officials said the agreement had required Ms. Yehud to be released on Saturday.
A day later, the issue was resolved when Hamas confirmed Ms. Yehud and other hostages would be freed this week and Israel agreed to allow displaced Palestinians to return to the north starting on Monday.
Anwar Abu Hindi, 41, walked for more than four hours from Deir al-Balah to reach her home in Gaza City on Monday, an exhausting journey that required frequent rests. Even though she described the devastation as being “beyond nightmares,” Ms. Abu Hindi said her spirits were still lifted by returning home.
“I can feel the atmosphere of my city,” she said. “The gentle breeze feels like it’s welcoming us back,” she added. “It’s a special moment, despite all the hardships.”
Bilal Shbair contributed reporting.
