Deir el-Balah, Gaza and Beirut, Lebanon – In the Gaza Strip, many Palestinians are celebrating, hoping that the devastating 15-month war is finally over.
Israel and Hamas have agreed to a ceasefire proposal, according to Qatar and the United States, which would involve an exchange of captives and prisoners, as well as the return of Palestinians to their homes across Gaza. Israel says some problems remain, while Hamas has announced its acceptance.
In Gaza, Palestinian joy is tempered by grief after experiencing the death of so many of their loved ones in an Israeli war that rights groups and United Nations experts have called a “genocide.” “.
Several Palestinians told Tel Aviv Tribune they planned to return to their towns and villages as soon as they had the chance, after being displaced by Israeli attacks and so-called “evacuation orders”.
“As soon as there is a ceasefire, I will return and embrace my land in Beit Hanoon, north of Gaza,” said Umm Mohamed, a 66-year-old woman who lost two of her ten children when an Israeli bomb fell on his house. in December 2023.
“What I realized in this war is that your home, your homeland and your children are all you have,” she told Tel Aviv Tribune.
Israel’s war on Gaza has killed more than 46,500 Palestinians and injured more than 100,000. It began after a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, in which 1,139 people were killed and around 250 were captured.
During the Israeli offensive on Gaza, Israel systematically bombed schools, hospitals and camps for displaced people, destroying almost all basic services and structures necessary for life, according to UN experts and advocacy groups. defense of rights.
As of September 2024, the United Nations Satellite Center found that 66% of all structures in the Gaza Strip had been damaged or destroyed by Israeli attacks.
Israel also tightened its siege on Gaza at the start of the war, causing mass starvation and disruption of law and order.
Now that the end of poverty seems imminent, Palestinians are struggling to regain everything they lost in the war – and everyone.
“I have mixed feelings… but I pray to God that we can return to our normal lives without feeling insecure,” Mohamed Abu Rai, a 47-year-old doctor, said from his office in Deir el-Balah.
Memory and grief
Palestinians reflected on the loved ones they lost to Israeli attacks ahead of the now-expected ceasefire.
Lubna Rayyes, who was headmistress of the American International Primary School in Gaza City, said she lost one of her colleagues, Bilal Abu Saaman, who was rescuing people from the rubble when it was bombed.
Rayyes said she frequently calls Abu Saaman’s widow and asks her about her young children.
“He was a wonderful teacher and very kind. When he died, it really affected me and it still hurts until now,” Rayyes told Tel Aviv Tribune by telephone from Cairo, Egypt, where she has lived with her husband and three children since last year.
“Bilal was truly one of the best people in the world,” she added.
Rayyes also spoke about his family home, which was burned to the ground by Israeli soldiers who set it on fire.
“There’s nothing left of the house,” she said, sighing. “There are no more family photos, or memorabilia of any kind (that we recovered). Everything is gone.
Abu Rai also lost his home, but like Rayyes, he says the memory of his deceased colleagues and friends brings him the most grief.
He estimates that the true number of victims far exceeds the official toll and he still doesn’t really understand how he survived over the past 15 months.
“Staying alive in Gaza has always been just a matter of luck,” he said.
Stay or go?
While many Palestinians are eager to return home and rebuild their communities, others cannot imagine staying in the besieged enclave any longer.
Mahmoud Saada, 52, said he did not believe there would be a lasting solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict despite the planned ceasefire.
He says he will take his young children and leave Gaza as soon as the crossing to Egypt opens.
“I swear to God I will not return to Gaza. I’m so tired and fed up,” he said from Deir el-Balah, where he sleeps with his family in a small, crowded tent.
“I want to leave Gaza and go somewhere else,” he told Tel Aviv Tribune.
Abu Rai also said he could not imagine staying in Gaza now that everything is completely destroyed.
He believes most survivors are deeply traumatized and simply cannot imagine rebuilding their communities and lives, especially since Gaza has already struggled to recover from many previous wars with Israel.
For now, he suspects many people are trying to find a way out, at least for now.
“There has been so much destruction and we are starting from scratch. Constantly rebuilding our communities wastes so much time in our lives. Every day we lose, we don’t get back,” he told Tel Aviv Tribune.
Abu Rai, Rayyes and Umm Mohamed all agree, however, that Palestinians will miss Gaza if they leave, making moving difficult for many.
Ultimately, they believe most people will stay or return to Gaza, if they can.
“We have to go back eventually, you know?” Rayyes told Tel Aviv Tribune.
“There truly is no place like home.”
