Displaced Gazans Eager to Return Home and Lay Their Loved Ones to Rest
Amidst a temporary ceasefire, heartbroken Palestinians yearn to return to their devastated homes in northern Gaza, desperate to pay their last respects to loved ones buried under the rubble Sparse aid offers a glimmer of hope amidst the unimaginable destruction
Mahmoud Moharram, a displaced Palestinian, expressed his determination to return to his home and family, even though they are currently buried under the rubble. He walked alongside other residents, hoping to make the journey back to northern Gaza while the temporary ceasefire remains in effect.
Moharram, like many Palestinians, had to leave his home in the north during Israel's military campaign. "We want to bring our relatives and children back," he told CNN. "We left them behind and we want to return home."
The much-anticipated Friday ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has given a brief moment of relief to thousands of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip after nearly seven weeks of conflict. The sound of military drones overhead quieted for the first time since October 7 - the day Hamas launched a brutal assault on Israeli cities, resulting in the deaths of more than 1,200 people in the largest such attack on Israel since the country's establishment in 1948.
Parentss and relatives of children kidnapped on October 7 hold a demonstration in Tel Aviv.
Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images
Hamas has freed 13 Israeli hostages from Gaza, according to the Israeli prime minister's office. Although the attacks on Gaza have temporarily ceased, residents continue to grapple with destroyed homes, missing family members, and slow-arriving aid.
Despite the Israeli military warning against it, many people are taking advantage of the break in fighting to travel back north.
Israel made it clear to Palestinians in Gaza that the truce was only temporary and did not mean an end to the war, just before it was set to take effect.
In a video posted on X on Friday, Avichay Adraee, the Arabic spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), stated that "The war is not over yet." He also emphasized that the cessation of hostilities for humanitarian purposes is only temporary. Adraee further cautioned against returning to the northern part of Gaza, warning that it is a dangerous war zone and movement towards it is prohibited.
Arabic flyers were also distributed in southern Gaza on Friday morning, containing the same details and directives. However, numerous Gazans are expressing the need to take advantage of the lull in fighting to go back home, where their memories, possessions, finances, clothing, and even some of their family members are still present – whether deceased or alive.
We want to bury them
"These are our homes, (where we left) our money, our things, our belongings," said Asaad Agha, a displaced Palestinian from Beit Lahia in northern Gaza.
Agha told CNN that they have not been able to bury their children who died, and they are hoping to do so as they have martyrs scattered on the streets. Residents and a journalist informed CNN that Palestinians attempting to return to the north were blocked by Israeli forces.
Abo Mohamed al-Fayoumi, sitting beside some blankets and a white plastic bag containing his belongings, questioned, "What truce are they referring to when tanks have been firing at us all morning? We don't feel any truce, we don't feel safe."
Amid the sound of gunfire, presumed to be Israeli, on Salah al-Din Street, videos shared on social media showed people running away. A journalist informed CNN that Israeli tanks were spotted and gunfire could be heard on the same street, which is the main highway running north to south through the strip.
A Palestinian woman cries in anguish following Israeli strikes on Rafah, Gaza, on November 20, 2023.
Mohammed Abed/AFP/Getty Images
The IDF responded to CNN's inquiries about reports of people being fired on while trying to travel north by stating that they are positioned along the agreed upon operational boundaries of the ceasefire. Prior to this, the IDF had urged residents to use the truce period to prepare and make necessary arrangements, instead of traveling north. The only permitted movement in the northern area is for residents who are evacuating to the south, according to the IDF.
It is unknown how many of the 1.1 million people who previously inhabited the north of Gaza are still there after the evacuation. David Satterfield, the United States Special Envoy, stated earlier this month that between 350,000 and 400,000 people are still in the north.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) reports that over 1.7 million of the territory's 2 million population are internally displaced.
Aid trickles in
As the brief truce holds, aid is being brought into the territory while it still can be.
The Rafah border crossing allowed 90 out of 200 aid trucks to enter Gaza on Friday, carrying food, water, relief, and medical supplies, according to an Egyptian official. The Palestinian Red Crescent also received two ambulances and 85 trucks from their Egyptian counterpart.
The day after a Palestinian family in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, experienced the tragic loss of the mother and two children due to Israeli bombardment, a relative bravely attempted to retrieve some personal belongings from their damaged home on November 19.
Fuel trucks from Egypt have crossed into Gaza, providing much-needed fuel to the territory. This information was reported by a journalist on the scene working for CNN.
The Israeli government's Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) announced that on Friday morning, four fuel tankers and four tankers carrying cooking gas were transported into Gaza via Rafah.
On November 21, 2023, in Tel Aviv, Israel, demonstrators gathered outside the Kirya defense complex as the political cabinet meeting was held. The families and supporters of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza were present as the Israeli cabinet discussed a potential deal for the release of some hostages. The Israeli prime minister and Hamas leader both reported progress, although the full terms of the deal were not yet clear.
The challenging negotiations involve Israel, Hamas, the US, and Qatar in the effort to release 50 hostages. In recent days and weeks, homes, shelters, and hospitals have been deprived of electricity due to the shortage of fuel required to operate generators in the territory.
UNRWA is distributing the arriving aid. On Friday, Palestinians requested a safe corridor to cross north, gather their belongings, bury their dead, and return south.
Agha expressed the need for a crossing corridor to travel to and from their homes. The Hamas-controlled health ministry in Gaza reports that over 14,000 Palestinians have lost their lives since the start of the war.
"Our people are gone. There is no one left," Moharram said.
