Palestinians Caught Between Despair And Hope As They Return To Gaza

The dramatic images of uniform-clad supporters of the Palestinian militant Hamas celebrating the release of the first three Israeli hostages leave Abdullah Abdel Aal unmoved.

The 45-year-old, who has lost 40 family members in the Gaza war, views Hamas’ declarations of victory over Israel as deeply cynical.

“I am homeless, without a life or a future,” the father of six tells dpa. “I don’t know why we have to pay this price.”

The recently brokered ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas has brought a respite from the violence.

It has brought new hope but also much bitterness.

For many residents like Aal, the suffering is far from over.

A homeland reduced to rubble

Abdel Aal, now living in a refugee camp in Khan Younis, a city in southern Gaza, holds Hamas as accountable as Israel for his plight.

“They have turned my homeland into a pile of rubble, full of pain and suffering that will never end – even if the war ends,” he says.

The Gaza war began after the worst massacre in Israel’s history on October 7, 2023, when over 1,200 people in Israel were killed by Hamas militants and other groups. Some 250 hostages were also taken.

In response, Israel launched a massive military offensive in Gaza, resulting in the deaths of more than 46,700 people, according to Palestinian sources.

While these figures, which include both civilians and combatants, have not been independently verified, the United Nations has deemed them credible.

A recent UN Human Rights Office report found that 70% of those killed in Gaza were women and children.

The fighting has left approximately 90% of Gaza’s 2.1 million residents displaced, with many forced into makeshift camps or former schools, according to UN estimates.

Before the war, Abdel Aal worked as a trader. Now, he is reliant on aid deliveries to survive. He has no plans to return to his home in Rafah, which he knows has been destroyed.

“Why should I go back?” he asks bitterly. “Everything is destroyed. The smell of death is everywhere. What else would I find but oppression and pain?”

A fragile ceasefire and flickers of hope

As soon as the ceasefire came into effect, many in southern Gaza began returning to what was left of their homes.

Families carried their belongings on donkey carts or walked from displacement camps, only to find rubble where their homes once stood.

According to UN data, about two-thirds of all buildings in Gaza have been destroyed or severely damaged during the conflict.

Despite this devastation, some, like Halima Abu Nasr, are determined to return. The 50-year-old, originally from Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip, is eager to go back, regardless of the state of her home.

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. “It’s a very difficult situation,” she says.

“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.

Holding onto hope

Samir Ghattas from Gaza City shares Nasr’s optimism. He is thankful for the temporary silence of the guns, but his thoughts are already on the future.

He is already dreaming of a swift reconstruction and a return to stability.

Despite the overwhelming destruction and his own exhaustion, he refuses to surrender his hope for normalcy – even if that normalcy means living among a landscape of ruins.