Al-Rashid Street, Gaza City, Palestine – There are many stories among the tens of thousands of people walking along Gaza’s al-Rashid Street, heading for the north.
In the crowds is a man with a white beard walking with determination alongside his family. In one hand, he carries a blanket and a few meagre possessions. In the other, he holds onto his adult son, who has Down Syndrome.
Rifaat Jouda doesn’t pretend that he isn’t tired. He started his journey in the morning in southern Gaza, in Khan Younis’s al-Mawasi, where his family had been displaced for 15 months during Israel’s war on Gaza.
The aim was to reach Gaza City, a journey finally possible since Israel allowed Palestinians in the southern Gaza Strip to travel north on Monday, after a ceasefire began on January 19.
But it’s a long walk – some 30 kilometres (18.6 miles) along a coastal road – and Rifaat’s family were forced to stop to rest every hour.
“The journey has been exhausting and very difficult,” Rifaat tells media, after finally reaching Gaza City. “Despite that, we were determined to return.”
Rifaat is not sure of his plan now that he has returned home. His physical home, in northern Gaza City, no longer exists – he explains that it was destroyed in an Israeli attack in October.
“They [Rifaat’s contacts in Gaza City] say the situation is very difficult, with no water, no services, and widespread destruction,” Rifaat says. “But what difference does it make? We are moving from a difficult situation to an even harder one. We will rebuild what we can. But [making the journey to return] back has lifted our spirits and renewed our hope.”
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