‘We’re chasing what’s left of life’: Gazans journey back to destruction.

JABALIA, Gaza Strip — The trailer creaked under the weight of mattresses, blankets, tents, a gas cylinder, worn-out plastic barrels, sacks of clothes, plastic chairs, gardening tools, various kitchen utensils, and a toy tricycle—the common belongings of Mohammad Abu Warda and his family.

Abu Warda, 34, attached the trailer to his tractor by pulling the ropes securing the load. She looked for a moment at her mother, Bouthaina Warda, 60, who was braiding her daughter’s hair, then turned to look at the coastal road heading north towards Gaza City.

It was time to go home.

“The last time we used this highway, we were running away from death,” said Abu Varda, as his hands tightened the rope once more.

“Today we are in search of what is left of life.”

Others around him were embarking on a similar journey, packing as much of their belongings as they could into shipping. Diesel fumes mixed with dust and salty sea air as donkey carts and tractors jostled to make room with pickup trucks and larger transport trucks.

Every few hundred metres, more people were joining the Al-Rashid Highway from the side streets, adding to the slow-moving flow of hundreds of thousands of people returning home to see what was left of their lives in northern Gaza.

The homecoming comes at a hopeful time after two years of war. The groundbreaking Israel-Hamas ceasefire remains in place, along with the hope of a lasting peace. President Trump departed for Israel on Monday, just in time for the expected release of the last hostages held in Gaza. Israel plans to release hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and plans to increase aid to the famine-affected region.

Abu Warda had suffered displacement early in the war, when he and his family abandoned their home in Jabalia, a few miles north of Gaza City, in November 2023; They returned there 14 months later in January this year, before a massive Israeli offensive against Gaza City and the northern part of the area last month forced them out again.

This time, Abu Warda, whose uncles and cousins ​​braved the 26-kilometer journey from Khan Younis in central Gaza to Jabaliyah the day before, knew it would be a bitter homecoming.

“Everything is gone. The house is destroyed,” he said.

Sitting in the trailer, Bouthaina spoke in a low and sombre voice.

“People say we’re going home, but home isn’t there anymore,” he said. “We’ll just see what’s left. A pile of rubble.”

Most of the 2.1 million people living in the Gaza Strip (about 140 square miles, less than a third of the area of ​​Los Angeles) face similar conditions; According to expert estimates, almost the entire population has been forced to move in the last two years and more than 90% of homes have been damaged.

The UN and other aid groups, which accuse Israel of genocide, say there is famine in some parts of the region due to Israel’s months-long blockade. Israel denies the accusation and says it acted to destroy Hamas.

Meanwhile, the region’s health, water or sanitation infrastructure has been devastated; Especially in Gaza City, according to Gaza Municipality spokesman Asem Al-Nabih.

“I can’t explain to you the sheer amount of damage we saw,” he said.

He added that the Israeli army deployed booby-trapped armored assault vehicles, which damaged not only above-ground structures but also roads, as well as water wells, underground pipes and sewage pumps.

“Our priority now is to reach water, and we have started to open the main roads so that people can reach what is left of their homes,” he said. “But we’ve also lost most of our heavy and medium-sized equipment in the last two years, so we can’t do much to alleviate people’s suffering.”

The war began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel; He killed 1,200 people, two-thirds of whom were civilians, and kidnapped about 250, according to Israeli officials.

In retaliation, Israel launched a major military offensive that killed more than 67,000 people, or 3% of the territory’s population, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health. Although it does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its tally, its figures are considered reliable and are used by the UN and the Israeli military.

Abu Warda started the tractor’s engine and revved it faster as he passed a seaside cafe where his family once stopped for tea and grilled chicken on weekend holidays. There were abandoned sandals, sun-hardened plastic water bottles, and broken toys on the side of the road; These were the remains of months of migration.

With every kilometer the family approaches Jabalia, the landscape changes, with fewer tents, more ruins, and more dust covering people’s faces. Entire apartment blocks were leaning against each other like carelessly toppled dominoes.

Finally, six hours later, Abu Warda parked his tractor in front of a pile of walls and weathered rebar in Jabalia: his home.

“I remember my window was there,” Abu Warda said, pointing to the gap between the fallen concrete slabs.

A caravan contains the belongings of the family of Mohammed Abu Warda, who fled northern Gaza months ago to escape attacks by the Israeli army.

(Bilal Shbeir / For the Times.)

A dusty, dog-eared school notebook was visible among the rubble. He took it out and shook off the cap. His son’s name was still visible in red pen.

Abu Warda’s sister, Amal Warda, 25, bent down and picked up a handful of gray powder.

“That’s why we came back,” he said quietly. “Touching the truth with our own hands.”

As the afternoon wore on, the family used rope scavenged from a neighbor’s yard to secure the tarp between two long pieces of concrete. Abu Warda found an old metal teapot and started a small fire with wood chips, then brewed tea, poured it into hollow cups, and passed it around.

A few neighbors and cousins ​​emerged from similarly ruined ruins and exchanged greetings that were both cheerful and vulnerable. Someone offered water. In addition to the information about US aid, another news was shared about which wells in the region are still operational.

Children ran up the piles of rubble and started playing. Abu Warda’s 12-year-old nephew, Bisan, took a stick and drew a picture of a house with four windows and a tree. He added his family standing outside with smiles on their faces. When the wind blew it away, he drew it again.

“Gaza is still breathing down its people,” Amal said. “As long as people come back here, life will gradually return to its former state.”

Towards sunset the sea breeze cooled off. The family laid out the blankets they brought with them and slept under the tarpaulin. Abu Warda looked at the sky.

“I’m not sure what tomorrow will bring,” he said.

“But I know this: It is better to be here, even in ruins, than to wait for news in a tent.”

Special correspondent Shbeir reported from Jabalia and Times staff writer Bulos of Jerusalem.