“They turned my home into a pile of rubble, full of pain and suffering that will never end – even if the war ends,” says Abdullah Abdel Aal in Gaza.
His anger is aimed both at Israel, which bombed large areas of Gaza to the ground over 15 months of war, as well as Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist group who ruled the territory.
Hamas’ attacks on southern Israeli communities on October 7, 2023, triggered the Israeli bombardment that devastated the coastal strip.
Aal, 45, lost 40 relatives during the fighting. A 6-week ceasefire that began on Sunday has brought new hope but also much bitterness.
He views Hamas’ claims of victory over Israel with cynicism: “I am homeless, without a life or a future,” the father of six told dpa.
Aal is currently living with his family in a tent in a refugee camp in Khan Younis, a city in the south of the territory. Before the war, he worked as a trader. Now he depends on aid deliveries.
Many people in the southern Gaza Strip set out to see what was left of their homes as soon as the ceasefire came into effect.
Some brought their belongings with them on donkey carts, which they had taken with them when they fled months ago.
Others set off on foot from the camps for internally displaced persons.
Most of them found only destruction instead of their homes.
Aal, who knows that his house in Rafah was destroyed, has no plans to leave the refugee camp. “Everything is destroyed. The smell of death is everywhere. What would I find there except oppression and pain?”
Halima Abu Nasr, on the other hand, is full of impatience and hope. The 50-year-old woman can hardly wait to be back in Beit Hanoun in the north of the Gaza Strip.
She just wants to be back home, no matter what it looks like. If necessary, she will pitch her tent among the ruins, she says.
“Israel wanted to expel us, and Hamas did not protect us,” she says.
But it is still her home, and despite all the destruction around her, the mother of seven is not considering leaving Gaza.
“We don’t know what will become of us or whether the [ceasefire] agreement will hold.”
“I hope that we will achieve lasting and genuine peace,” she says.
Internally displaced Palestinians inspect their destroyed houses in Rafah, amid a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa
Internally displaced Palestinians inspect their destroyed houses in Rafah, amid a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa
Internally displaced Palestinians inspect their destroyed houses in Rafah, amid a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. Abed Rahim Khatib/dpa
