"When the long-awaited Gaza ceasefire was announced back in January 2025, displaced people counted down the minutes until they were allowed to return to their homes - or what remained of their homes. They had spent nights on streets where frost chilled their bones, enduring an undignified life while waiting for January 27 to dawn. Then they marched, walking for long miles without bending their backs or even looking behind. Even though Al-Rashid Street, the path they had to take, was challenging, their joy at going home outweighed any exhaustion they felt."
"That same street that once echoed with sounds of jubilance and hope for a new beginning - where peace, just peace, might finally take root - is now witnessing another march once more. Palestinians from Gaza City and the northern parts of the Strip are now dragging their bodies and belongings in the opposite direction, terrified as Israel's forces have intensified the machinery of genocide, using it as a bargaining chip to push them out of Gaza. Their hope, once held tightly despite the odds, was pulverized with the collapse of"
The January 27, 2025 ceasefire allowed displaced Palestinians to return north toward ruined homes, prompting long, hopeful marches along routes like Al-Rashid Street despite hardship. Many had endured nights on cold streets and indignity while waiting for the ceasefire. Returnees described intense joy upon reaching the remnants of their residences, seeing it as a moment of emotional release. Those fragile hopes collapsed when Israeli forces intensified operations, causing new waves of forced movement southward. Renewed displacement involved people dragging belongings and fleeing in terror amid allegations of genocidal tactics and use of displacement as leverage.
Read at Truthout
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