By Nidal Al-Mughrabi and Mahmoud Issa

‘We are happy just to return to where our homes were. That, too, is a great joy,’ says displaced Gaza man

CAIRO/GAZA, Oct 10 (Reuters) – As thousands of Gazans began picking through the ruins of their shattered homes on Friday after a ceasefire deal, , opens new tab the excitement of return was quickly tempered by shock at the depth of the destruction and anxiety over the hardships ahead.

The announcement that the U.S.-brokered accord had gone into effect sent thousands of Palestinians pouring up the Gaza Strip’s coastal road by foot, bicycle, truck and donkey cart toward the largely devastated north.

Essentially all of Gaza’s 2.2 million population was displaced during two years of unrelenting war that has killed tens of thousands of people and reduced huge swathes of the enclave to ruins.

For some, the prospect of returning even to the remnants of their former houses was enough to inspire elation.

“Of course, there are no homes – they’ve been destroyed – but we are happy just to return to where our homes were, even over the rubble,” Mahdi Saqla, 40, said as he stood by a makeshift tent in central Gaza. “That, too, is a great joy.”

Trudging along the road along with her family, former Gaza City resident Mahira al-Ashi said she was so excited to return to the city where she’d grown up that she couldn’t sleep as she waited for news about when they could start moving.

“By God, when they opened the road, I was so happy to go back,” she said.

CONFRONTING STARK REALITY

But for many of those who have already returned, the stark reality of the situation quickly sank in.

To the south, in the city of Khan Younis, Ahmed al-Brim pushed a bicycle loaded with wood through a scene of apocalyptic destruction – row after row of buildings crumpled by bombardment and streets strewn with rubble.

“We went to our area – it was exterminated,” he said, waving a hand through the air. “We don’t know where we will go after that.”

Another Khan Younis resident, Muhannad al-Shawaf, said it used to take him three minutes to reach a nearby street from his house. Now, took over an hour as he picked his way through piles of debris.

Item 1 of 4 Palestinians pass by the rubble following Israeli forces’ withdrawal from the area, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, October 10. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed

[1/4] Palestinians pass by the rubble following Israeli forces’ withdrawal from the area, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, October 10. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed Purchase Licensing Rights , opens new tab

“The destruction is huge and indescribable – indescribable,” he said. “It is almost all in ruins and not suitable for living in.”

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