Palestinians evacuate the area following an Israeli airstrike on the Sousi mosque in Gaza City on October 9, 2023. (Photo by Mahmud HAMS / AFP) (Photo by MAHMUD HAMS/AFP via Getty Images)
(EPICSTORIAN) – For over a year, northern Gaza remained inaccessible to its displaced residents. When Israeli forces opened the Netzarim corridor, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians seized the opportunity to return home.
But what awaited them was not home—it was an unrecognizable wasteland of destruction, death, and despair.
Northern Gaza in Ruins
Khamis and Ahmad Imarah, like many others, embarked on the harrowing 11-kilometer journey back to Al-Shujaiya, a once-thriving neighborhood in Gaza City. With small children in tow, they navigated collapsed roads and mountains of rubble, stepping over bodies—some fresh, others long decomposed.
“You walk from one neighborhood to another, and all you see is destruction,” Khamis lamented. “The dead still lie in the streets, untouched.”
Their family home, like most in the area, had been reduced to ruins. Only one room remained partially intact.
As Khamis sifted through the rubble, his hands trembled upon finding his mother’s green knitting bag, still holding balls of yarn and crochet hooks. “She loved to knit, to tell stories—she was the heart of our home,” he said, clutching the remnants of her presence.
A Region Turned to Dust
The destruction across Gaza has been staggering. According to the United Nations, Israeli airstrikes have damaged or obliterated nearly 70% of all structures in the enclave over the past 15 months— with Gaza City bearing the brunt. The war not only forced an exodus of residents but also ensured their return would be nearly impossible.
Even for those who make it back, survival is a daily battle. “There is no water, no electricity, no food—nothing,” Khamis warned. “People sleep in the rubble because there’s nowhere else to go.”
Dr. Mohammad Salha, director of Al-Awda Hospital, confirmed the dire situation. “The scale of destruction makes it impossible to establish shelters for the displaced,” he explained. “Before the war, this area was densely populated. Now, it’s just mountains of debris.”
Fleeing the North Again
While the journey north was arduous, the harsh reality forced many to turn back. Arwa Al-Masri, displaced from Beit Hanoun, recalled how her family members went ahead to assess the damage. “They were shocked,” she said. “My brother had to travel miles just to find drinking water.”
But going back south isn’t a solution either. Displaced Palestinians find themselves trapped in overcrowded refugee camps, relying on dwindling resources from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). With Israeli authorities restricting UNRWA’s operations, the future of aid remains uncertain.
“When UNRWA stops, people won’t just lose food supplies,” Al-Masri warned. “Thousands in shelter schools will have nowhere to stay. There are no alternatives.
A Family Torn Apart
For Khamis and Ahmad Imarah, returning home was yet another chapter in their ongoing nightmare. Of their extended family of 60, only 11 remain alive.
Ahmad’s daughter, once an energetic child, now bears permanent injuries from shrapnel wounds. His young son still wakes up screaming, haunted by the image of his mother’s lifeless body.
Their family had fled Al-Shujaiya when Israeli forces issued evacuation orders, seeking safety in Al-Mughraqa, just south of the Netzarim corridor. But safety was an illusion. A missile strike shattered their temporary home, killing loved ones in an instant.
“I still don’t know how I survived,” Khamis reflected. “My wife had just given birth to our daughter. A week later, both were gone.” When he finally laid them to rest, he hoped for some closure. But even the graves didn’t survive. “Days later, we returned to visit them—only to find the cemetery erased by bulldozers,” he said. “Even the dead are not allowed to rest.”
Determined to Stay
Despite the unimaginable suffering, Khamis refuses to leave Gaza. “I will not leave this land,” he vowed. “It belonged to my grandparents, my ancestors. How can I abandon it?”
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His defiance is shared by many who view their presence as an act of resistance. “Even if it gets harder, even if there is nothing left, I will stay. I will only leave Gaza to go to Heaven,” he said, standing amidst the wreckage that was once his home.
As the world watches Gaza’s devastation unfold, those who
remain are not just fighting for survival—they are fighting to exist.
