Returning to Gaza City: A Heartbreaking Reality After Ceasefire
As the last Israeli tanks left Gaza city on Friday afternoon, many displaced families cautiously made their way back from the south, their steps slow and uncertain, worried about what they might discover. They walked through streets that seemed to vanish, passed intersections where buildings once stood but are now gone, and entered neighborhoods reduced to ashes and twisted metal. This was the first chance for those who had fled during the long Israeli military operation to return, following a ceasefire brokered with US support to pause years of conflict between Israel and Hamas.
Families moved through their old neighborhoods quietly, like people attending a somber gathering, softly calling out names and sifting through the dust for pieces of their past lives. Some found only emptiness; others uncovered a door, a cooking pot, or an old photo. Children pointed at the ruins, asking their parents, “Was this where we lived?”
Fuad Al Masri, 54, a father of seven, had moved his family away but stayed in the city, waiting eagerly for the Israeli withdrawal so he could return. “From the moment they announced the truce, I felt restless inside,” he shared. “I just wanted to see my home, to know what remained.” His family’s four-story house, built over twenty years with savings and hope, was now just rubble. “Twenty years of effort, all destroyed,” he said with tears, standing where his living room once was. “Thirty-five of us-my sons, their wives, my grandchildren-have nowhere to go.”
Another father, Rami Samour, 33, waited two days near Gaza city for the ceasefire to take effect. When he finally entered the Al Nasr neighborhood, he found his home still standing but badly damaged-walls cracked, windows broken, and the roof partly collapsed. “Thank God for that,” he said, wiping dust from his hands. “But when you look around, you realize how lucky you are. Every street shows massive destruction. The army left Gaza as ruins, wiping out all signs of life.” Yet, he remains hopeful. “You see the love people have for Gaza. Thousands gathered, waiting to enter even knowing they’d find ruins. That love is what will rebuild this city.”
In the Zeitoun area, 28-year-old Mo’men Azzam walked through what used to be his family’s street but recognized nothing. “We’ve come back, but it’s full of pain and loss,” he said. After fleeing south when an airstrike tragically killed his brother and nephews, he promised to return to see what remained. “I found nothing. Our homes, our work, our family-all gone. Gaza is completely destroyed-the streets, the shops, the landmarks, the soul of the city.”
Despite the heartbreak, he expressed hope for the future. Facing the sea, now hidden behind heaps of rubble, he said, “God willing, this ceasefire will last. Peace will come, and we will rebuild everything. Gaza and its people will rise again.”
“Israel destroyed Gaza because they know how deeply we love it. But no matter what, that love cannot be destroyed.”
https://www.thenationalnews.co