No homes left, but Hope remains: Gazans return after two years of war

Around two million displaced Palestinians are now making their way back to what remains of their homes, driven not only by the desire to rebuild but also by the need to recover the bodies of their loved ones from under the rubble.

According to the Palestinian news agency Wafa, at least 135 bodies were recovered across the Gaza Strip on Saturday, as the cessation of Israel’s war and genocidal campaign allowed rescue teams to access devastated areas.

Al Jazeera reported that dozens more bodies were retrieved from hospitals across the Strip — including 43 from Al-Shifa Hospital and 60 from Al-Ahli Hospital.

Medical officials in Gaza also confirmed that 19 more people, including 16 members of a single family in southern Gaza, were killed in an Israeli airstrike on Friday. One more person succumbed to their injuries on Saturday.

After months of relentless Israeli bombardment, almost nothing remains of Gaza City — total destruction: no functioning infrastructure, no clean water, no electricity, only skeletal remnants of what once were homes.

With Israeli forces withdrawing from parts of the destroyed areas, tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians have begun the long and painful journey back to the ruins of their former neighborhoods.

An Al Jazeera correspondent reporting from Nuseirat Camp described scenes of “children, women, the elderly, cars, vans, and carts loaded with the few remaining possessions of their lives” heading toward Gaza City.

He said families were taking down their temporary tents to set them up atop the ruins of their destroyed homes.

According to the correspondent, this return is being described as historic — yet it must be accompanied by concrete steps to address the ongoing humanitarian crisis.

Another Al Jazeera reporter from Deir al-Balah said there is now an urgent need for temporary shelters and mobile housing units for the returning families. “They are carrying whatever little they have left, moving toward the unknown,” the reporter added.

“Remarkable resilience,” fueled by hope

Despite the unimaginable devastation, Palestinians remain determined to return.

One displaced Palestinian heading toward Gaza City said: “I’m going back to Gaza, even though there’s nothing left to live with — no infrastructure, no clean water. Everything is so hard, really hard. But we must return.”

He added: “My son was martyred. All my daughters were injured. Still, I want to go back. We’ll pitch a tent and live in it, however we can.”

For many, returning to Gaza means facing ashes. Yet for generations, Palestinians under Israeli occupation have shown remarkable resilience — every return is not just a homecoming, but an act of defiance and hope.

Another survivor of Israel’s genocidal war said: “We want to see our homes — the homes that were destroyed at the beginning of the war. The floors collapsed on top of our children, but I can’t even describe to you the joy of this ceasefire.”

Life amid loss

An Al Jazeera correspondent in Gaza City reported that the faces of returning residents reflected both exhaustion and a mixture of grief and relief.
“Many told me they don’t know whether their homes are still standing or have become rubble — but they cling to hope,” he said.

One Gaza City resident returning home said: “We suffered so much. We had no space, and we literally couldn’t sleep.”

Another said: “We’re returning to the unknown. We don’t even know if our homes still exist. We pray to God that they’re still there.”

Even amid death, mourning, and destruction, the will to return remains a powerful reminder of a people who refuse to be erased or expelled from their land.

Humanitarian crisis across Gaza

The return of Gaza’s residents marks a historic moment, yet the humanitarian crisis remains dire.

Almost no buildings in Gaza remain intact, and there is an urgent need for temporary shelters and mobile housing units for returning families.

Tom Fletcher, head of UN relief operations, outlined crucial plans for Gaza’s reconstruction at the UN headquarters — including a massive scale-up in the provision of shelter, water and sanitation infrastructure, aid distribution, education, and medical care.

Israel launched its deadly bombing campaign across the besieged Gaza Strip in October 2023, a campaign compounded by severe restrictions on essential humanitarian aid and services.

As a result, much of Gaza’s infrastructure — homes, schools, universities, mosques, churches, public spaces, and healthcare centers — has been reduced to rubble.

At noon on Friday (9 a.m. GMT), a fragile ceasefire came into effect following an agreement between Israel and the Palestinian resistance to end the war and exchange prisoners.

The next phase of the deal, scheduled for noon on Monday — 72 hours after the full withdrawal — is expected to include the release of 20 Israeli prisoners and the transfer of several bodies.

In exchange, Israel will release around 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, including 250 serving life sentences.