Thousands of displaced Palestinians return to a devastated Gaza City, the second day of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, with many stunned by the destruction, even as others were relieved to find their homes still standing.
Taking advantage of the ceasefire, Raja Salmi walked back to her home in Gaza City, where weeks of Israeli bombardment and ground operations had targeted areas said to harbour thousands of Hamas fighters.
“We walked for hours, and every step was filled with fear and anxiety for my home,” Salmi tells AFP.
When she reached the Al-Rimal neighbourhood, she found her house destroyed.
“It no longer exists. It’s just a pile of rubble,” she says. “I stood before it and cried. All those memories are now just dust.”
The flow of returnees continues, with around 50,000 people arriving in Gaza City today, according to the civil defence agency, a rescue service operating under Hamas authority.
“This brings the total number of returnees to Gaza since yesterday to around 250,000 so far,” says Mohammed Al-Mughayyir, an official with the agency.
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