Three weeks after the start of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, more than half a million Palestinians were finally able to go home to the north of the Gaza Strip. Mohammed, 22, made a long trip to the north with his family, after 15 months of travel.
Last week, Mohammed, 22, returned home, in the north of Gaza, for the first time since the start of the 15 -month war between Israel and Hamas.
He and his family are part of the half-million Palestinians who made a long trip north along the Netzarim corridor, which Israel recently reopened as part of the cease-fire agreement with Hamas .
Like many others, Mohammed went on foot, with his mother, sister and four children, aged two to seven years old. They walked for more than five hours, from Deir Al-Balah, in the center of Gaza, about twenty kilometers.
“We left around seven in the morning”he tells Euronews. “The road waiting for us was extremely difficult. There was no water or food on the journey”.
But when they came home that Mohammed’s family had put his life almost all their life, they found it in ruins. “It was very difficult, a horrible feeling”he says.
15 months of travel
For 15 months, Mohammed’s family lived in makeshift tents and was moved four timeshe said.
“The first day, on October 7, we were woken up at six in the morning by the sound of missile strikes, in very large numbers. We did not know what was going on”explains Mohammed. “We waited until nine in the morning to understand that it was a vast offensive, after Hamas entered Israeli territory, and that Israel had launched a large -scale war on the band of Gaza “.
Faced with Israeli bombings, Mohammed and his family first fled to Deir al-Balah, then Khan Younès, and finally Rafah, before returning to Deir Al-Balah, where they stayed for almost a year.
Life under tents hardly protected them from cold and rain. Back home, They have at least one roof above their heads, explains Mohammed, but they fear that he will collapse on them at any time.
“The building in which I find myself is half destroyed. At any time, God preserves us, he can collapse”he said. “We live a miracle and we risk everything, me, my family, the children of my sisters, just to shelter us from the rigors of winter”.
Mohammed adds: “If I could find another house where I would stay, I would, but it is not possible”.
Humanitarian aid is still struggling to reach northern Gaza
Israeli bombings and land operations have transformed whole districts of Gaza into vacant lots. The North, where Mohammed, is the most destroyed part of the territory.
It is therefore Extremely difficult for humanitarian aid to reach the population, even since the start of the ceasefire three weeks ago.
On Wednesday, the United Nations said that humanitarian organizations “Currently extend their operational presence and services to areas that were previously difficult or impossible to access”including the North.
In the past two weeks, the World Food Program (PAM) has delivered more than 10 million tonnes of food in the Gaza Strip.
But for Mohammed, Basic needs such as food, water and health care have become more difficult to satisfy from the ceasefire. He explains that if he had to travel far to receive help when he was moved, he now takes even more time to receive water or reach the nearest hospital.
“It’s very, very difficult”he declared to Euronews. “My home is about half an hour from where we can get water. I have to wear all the bottles with me, then go back for another half an hour. It has become more difficult that before “.
Gaza’s reconstruction could take 350 years, according to the UN
Although humanitarian organizations have strengthened their presence in the North, The total absence of infrastructure means that certain areas remain impossible to reach, leaving thousands of people like Mohammed without access to basic necessities.
The United Nations said that of the 25 emergency medical teams present in the Gaza Strip, only one operates in the North. She adds that if 565,092 people went to the north at the time of the ceasefire, more than 45,678 went south due to the lack of services and the general destruction of houses and communities.
Using satellite data, the United Nations estimated last month that 69 % of the Gaza structures had been damaged or destroyed, including more than 245,000 homes. The World Bank estimated the damage caused by the war and almost the combined economic production of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip at $ 18.5 billion.
She believes that Reconstruction could take over 350 years If the Israeli blockade, imposed in 2007 when Hamas took power, is maintained.
Reactions after Donald Trump’s statements
The question of the reconstruction of Gaza was particularly questioned when the American president Donald Trump suggested that the Palestinians moved to Gaza are permanently reinstalled outside the territory and that the United States becomes “Owners” enclave.
This proposal was unanimously condemned by international leaders, who described it as“unacceptable”of “Contrary to international law” And “In flagrant contradiction with the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council”.
Human rights organizations like Human Rights Watch have also warned thatSuch a plan would be equivalent to ethnic cleaning.
But even if the Palestinians are not expelled en masse from Gaza, many fear that they will never be able to return home or that the destruction of the territory makes life impossible.
After Donald Trump’s statement, several US officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, said he was only trying to temporarily move the 1.8 million inhabitants of Gaza to allow reconstruction.
But Many Palestinians have already declared that they would not leave their homes, including Mohammed.
“On our side, as Palestinians, we completely reject this idea”Mohammed told Euronews. “We spent a year and a half at war, we will not accept the idea of leaving. Those who leave their country suffer inexpressible. We will not leave or flee our country”.