Palestinians, gathered around Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital to celebrate the ceasefire deal [GETTY]
After a ceasefire came into effect on Sunday morning in Gaza, thousands of Palestinians are returning to their homes.
As crowds gathered across the Strip to celebrate, The New Arab’s Gaza correspondent spoke with locals about their feelings following the long-awaited truce.
Yasser Abu Younis returned to Rafah, in Gaza’s south, after fleeing to the Mawasi area of Khan Younis.
“I did not sleep last night,” the father of four told The New Arab. “I was waiting for the sun to rise so I could return to the city of Rafah and check on my home.”
Younis says he was “shocked” by what he saw in the city, saying his home, which he had spent years building for himself and his family, was completely razed to the ground.
“Rafah is no longer the city it was half a year ago,” the 40-year-old said. “The bodies of the dead are lying in the streets, some of them decomposed, and others were eaten by dogs.”
“There is complete and total destruction. [Israel] did not leave a stone on a stone in our city.”
As for Yahya Abu Zakaria, he began preparing his luggage on Sunday to return to the northern Gaza Strip, even though the agreement stipulates that no one in the south should return to the north before seven days from the start of the agreement.
“I know that it is still too early to prepare and pack the luggage,” Zakaria told The New Arab with a smile.” But I am doing so out of optimism and my longing to return to the city of Beit Hanoun, which I left on the first day of the war.”
“When we are allowed, I will return on foot. It has been 15 months of hell, death and hunger.”
While many are celebrating the truce, some are still holding back, remaining cautious about the deal.
Zakaria’s friend, Taha Abu Saif, does not share the same optimism.
The thirty-year-old, displaced from Gaza City in the Mawasi area of Khan Younis, expressed his “pessimism” about the agreement’s steadfastness and that the displaced would be able to return to their areas.
“We should not be confident that Israel will abide by the agreement. Israel has a history of violating treaties and agreements,” the father of the five children told The New Arab.
“Time will tell if the agreement will hold, and we will be able to return to our areas, end the killing, war and destruction, and return to peace again.”
Israel’s war on Gaza killed over 46,913 people and injured 110,750 since October 2023, while over 11,000 Palestinians remain missing under the rubble.
Before the deal came into effect, Israel killed 19 after the initial ceasefire deadline, wounding 36 more.
