Thousands of Palestinian families are travelling on foot towards Gaza City as a cease-fire, pausing Israel’s deadly war, has come into effect.
And what they are returning home to, if they even have a home now, is ‘staggering’, according to the UN.
Israel’s relentless bombing and ground incursions have pulverised the northern Gaza Strip, forcing many families into swollen tent camps in central and southern Gaza for months. New drone footage shows only a few buildings are still standing in the Tal al-Hawa neighbourhood, with the clothing of war-weary Gazans being the only flecks of colour in the grey rubble.
‘Is that what is left of Gaza?’ said resident Shreen Aboul Yakhni. ‘We are returning to no homes and no shelter for our kids, and winter is approaching.’
The refugee crisis has exacerbated what was already a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, with rampant hunger and a near-complete collapse of healthcare, schools, farmland and critical energy infrastructure
Around 20,000 tonnes of explosives have been dropped on Gaza since October 7, 2023, the equivalent of six nuclear bombs, The Canary reports.