Back to the Ruins in Gaza: When Rubble Becomes a Homeland and Memories a Shelter

21st January 2025

4 minutes read

Back to the Ruins in Gaza: When Rubble Becomes a Homeland and Memories a Shelter

When displacement becomes the norm, returning, even to the rubble, becomes a warm embrace against a reality that wanted to make them lose everything.

Such are the residents of the Gaza Strip, who regained hope this Sunday with the implementation of the ceasefire after 471 days of Israeli war.

Even before the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas came into effect, Palestinians in Gaza began returning to the remnants of their homes.

Memories beneath the Rubble

Majda Abou Jrad rushed to pack the belongings of her family’s temporary residence in the city of Khayyam, in the Mawasi region, south of Gaza.

At the beginning of the war, Majda and her family had to flee their home in Beit Hanoun, northern Gaza, where they used to gather around the kitchen table or on the roof during summer evenings, surrounded by the scent of flowers and jasmine.

But the home that carried those beautiful memories is now gone. Over the past year, Abou Jrad, her husband, and their six daughters have walked across the Gaza Strip, following one evacuation order after another from the Israeli army.

She told the Associated Press that they fled seven times, and each time their life became unfamiliar, forcing them to sleep in school classrooms, search for water in a vast tent camp, or even sleep in the street.

Now, the family is preparing to begin the journey back home – or what remains of it – and reunite with relatives who stayed in the north.

Abou Jrad said: “As soon as they announced that the ceasefire would start on Sunday, we began packing our bags and deciding what to take, not worrying that we would still be living in tents.”

The war in Gaza erupted when Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israeli towns, killing around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping about 250.

The conflict resulted in over 46,000 Palestinian deaths, massive destruction of Gaza, and the displacement of 1.9 million of its 2.3 million residents.

Walking Through the Rubble

Even before the ceasefire officially came into effect, with tank shelling continuing through the night and into the morning, many Palestinians began walking through the rubble to reach their homes, some on foot, others dragging their belongings on carts pulled by donkeys.

Mohammad Mahdi, a Palestinian displaced person and father of two children, was forced to leave his three-story house in the Zeitoun neighborhood southeast of Gaza City a few months ago.

Mahdi was able to reach his home Sunday morning, walking through the rubble from western Gaza. He said: “They are returning to recover their loved ones from under the rubble.”

Despite the scale of the destruction and the uncertain prospects for rebuilding, he added: “People were celebrating. They began cleaning the streets and removing the debris from their homes. It’s a moment they’ve waited for 15 months.”

Bodies Left Open

Oum Saber, a 48-year-old widow and mother of six, also returned to her hometown, Beit Lahiya, in northern Gaza.

She asked for her honorary family name, “Oum Saber,” to be used for security reasons.

She told by phone that her family found bodies lying in the streets as they returned, some exposed to the open sky for weeks.

She added that when they arrived in Beit Lahiya, they found their house and much of the surrounding area had been reduced to rubble.

Some families immediately started digging through the rubble in search of their missing loved ones. Others attempted to clean areas where they could set up tents.

A Destroyed Hospital

Oum Saber also mentioned finding Kamal Adwan Hospital in the area “completely destroyed.”

But the place “is no longer a hospital. They destroyed everything.”

In the city of Rafah, in southern Gaza, residents returned to find massive destruction throughout the city, once a center for displaced families fleeing Israeli bombardments from other areas. Some found human remains among the rubble of homes and streets.

An Unimaginable Scene

Mohammad Abu Taha, a Rafah resident, told the Associated Press as he and his brother inspected their family home: “It’s an indescribable scene. It’s like something you see in a Hollywood horror movie. Destroyed homes, human remains, skulls, and body parts in the streets and among the rubble.”

He also shared images of the debris piles he said used to be his family’s house. “I want to know how they destroyed our home.”

The return of families to their homes comes amid uncertainty over whether the ceasefire agreement will bring more than a temporary pause in fighting, and who will govern the Gaza Strip and how it will be rebuilt.

The United Nations has said that reconstruction could take more than 350 years if Gaza remains under Israeli siege.

Using satellite data, the United Nations estimated last month that 69% of buildings in Gaza had been damaged or destroyed, including more than 245,000 homes. With more than 100 trucks operating full-time, it could take more than 15 years to remove the debris.

But for many families, immediate aid outweighs concerns about the future.

Although Majda Abou Jrad remains in the tent for now, the difference is that “the bleeding will stop, the fear will stop, and she will sleep in peace with her family.”