‘Your body shivers from the scale of the destruction’: Thousands of Palestinians head back to their shattered lives after ceasefire
Clutching little more than a small rucksack or a metal can to hold water, tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza began their long walk home on Friday after a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel came into effect.
Snaking along the coastal road heading north to Gaza City, those displaced countless times during two years of unprecedented bloodshed took to the road once more.
Most carried nothing more than the clothes they were wearing as they dared to hope that a pause in the fighting may finally be more permanent.
Flanking the road were the ashen remains of buildings destroyed by relentless Israeli bombing. Mangled skylines loomed up around them, above piles of concrete rubble and twisted metal.
Among those travelling was Mahmoud Al-Kafarneh, 37, who headed home to northern Gaza. Living displaced in a tent for so long, he risked the long road north to find shelter.
“Your body shivers from the scale of the destruction,” he said.
“I felt extremely happy, the feeling of returning to the place I have always loved to live in, the streets that I know and remember well despite the destruction that befell them.
“But there is a more important reason for my happiness, which is that the sounds of violent shelling have stopped and the constant fear for my family and mother from the shelling has gone.
“We hope that the ceasefire will last permanently.”
The mass movement of people started shortly after midday, when the Israeli government declared that the long-awaited ceasefire had started.
Under the “phase one” rules of Donald Trump’s plan, Hamas now has 72 hours to deliver the 48 remaining hostages – 20 of whom are believed to be still alive – who have been held since the atrocities of October 7, 2023.
In return, 2,000 Palestinians held in Israeli jails will be released. While this is happening, Israeli forces will begin the staged withdrawal to what is known as the “yellow line”, which runs several kilometres deep into Gaza but will mean pulling out of some of the more populated cities.
An Israeli official told The Independent that the handover could begin as early as Sunday, with hostages being brought into Israel via multiple crossings. In the agreement, all 48 are supposed to be released at the same time but the same official said that was unlikely.
Families may have to wait as Hamas does not know all the locations of the deceased hostages. The Independent understands they will build an international task force, including regional countries like Qatar and even Turkey, to locate and retrieve the missing.
