With a ceasefire now in place, thousands of displaced Palestinians are heading back home today – returning to find their houses flattened.
For Rana Mohsen, 43, who fled Gaza City to seek refuge in Jabalia, it has been a long time coming.
“We’ve been waiting for this moment for 16 months,” the mother-of-three tells AFP news agency,
“My joy is indescribable. We are finally in our home. There is no home left, just rubble, but it’s our home.”
The roof of her home is all that remains and the extent of the destruction is “unimaginable”, she says, adding that “buildings and landmarks have completely disappeared, as if it were a ghost town or abandoned cities”.
Similar scenes greeted Ahmad al-Balawi, who’s just returned to Rafah.
“As soon as I returned to the city, I felt a shock”, he told AFP.
“Decomposing bodies, rubble, and destruction everywhere. Entire areas have been completely wiped out.”
Yesterday, in anticipation of today’s ceasefire, Gaza’s health ministry urged Palestinians returning home to stay away from bodies and to call the authorities to remove them.