A displaced Palestinian family's journey home to the ruins

The Mohammed family sat up talking late into the night before their journey north to the ruins of their Gaza home, a trudge across a desolate landscape that hundreds of thousands of Palestinians embarked on last week after a cease-fire.

Crowding around the fire and the cooking pot on the sand by their tent in a sprawling camp for displaced people in Deir al-Balah in the southern half of the Gaza Strip, they talked of their excitement about going home, plans for the tough days ahead and the fear and hardship they had lived through over 15 months of conflict.

READ MORE: 3 Israeli hostages freed in exchange for 369 Palestinians prisoners

"I haven't slept for the past three nights from joy. I long for my land, my town Jabalia, and the people of the north, to see our kin," said Ismael Mohammed, 47.

His wife Badreya, 42, their children Waseem, 25, Naseem, 22, Maysoon, 15, Yasser 10, Abdulrahman, 8, and Mohammed, 5, as well as Waseem's wife and their two toddlers, fled Jabalia early in the conflict.

Israel began its military campaign in Gaza in October 2023. The assault, with the declared goal of destroying Hamas, leveled swathes of the enclave driving nearly all its inhabitants from their homes and killing more than 48,000 Palestinians, over half of them women and children, according to Palestinian health authorities.

Early in the campaign, Israel ordered civilians to leave the north. Most did so. Those who left were barred from returning until last month's deal for a cease-fire and hostage release.

After the cease-fire took effect, hundreds of thousands of people left the temporary shelters they had crowded into across the south and trekked back north.

The Mohammed family had learned from relatives that their home had been destroyed in an airstrike but they had been ready to return as soon as the cease-fire was agreed upon.

"Shrapnel passed by the children while they were sleeping here. It went through the cover while I was here in the tent. The children were sick from fear," Badreya said.

Daunting trip

Deir al-Balah is only 18 kilometers from their Jabalia home. But cars, which must wait in line for hours at an Israeli checkpoint, are rare and expensive to hire.

Like most families, the Mohammeds had to walk. For Ismael, the journey was daunting. He is diabetic and lost an arm to his illness before the conflict. Last year his leg was injured in an Israeli airstrike and he can only hobble, leaning heavily on a rough stick while toting a bag on his back.

Having dismantled their tent, giving it to a neighbor for safe keeping, the family walked for hours, everyone except the youngest children carrying large packs laden with bedding, clothes, kitchen things, food and water.

Through long stretches, the road traversed districts of near total ruin, with mounds of rubble lining each side where buildings had stood. As they went farther north, the turquoise Mediterranean Sea on one side contrasted with the dust and debris on the other. When they reached Gaza City, past the Israeli checkpoint in the north of the enclave, they found a taxi for the final stretch, squeezing inside it.

ALSO READ: Hamas says to implement Gaza ceasefire agreement with Israel as agreed

In Jabalia, they found much of their neighborhood had been flattened and the roof and upper story of their home pancaked onto the ground floor.

Palestinians accuse Israel of indiscriminate bombardment. Israel accuses Hamas of hiding among civilian populations.

"There is joy, but it is not complete. There is no home, no water, no food. I do not know how I am going to sleep tonight," Ismael said.