Rafah, Gaza Strip, Palestine – Palestinian farmer Abdel Sattari owned two houses in the city of Rafah in Gaza. Over the course of the nine months since the Israeli forces invaded the southern city, he has been forced to flee. The 53-year-old lived in hope that if one house was bombed in one of the Israeli attacks, which destroyed more than 70% of the land, the other house would still be standing to take his family back when war broke out. Finally finished.

On Sunday, and even before that cease-fire It took effect, Abdel took his eldest son Mohammed and left the rest of their family in their displacement tent CondolencesOn the southwestern coast of the Gaza Strip. They rushed to one property, then to another, to face the harsh reality: his two houses – one in the Shaboura area and the other in Mirage – were reduced to rubble. Abdul’s hopes of returning to normal life were dashed.

The long-awaited ceasefire agreement entered into force on Sunday morning, bringing what Palestinians hope will be an end to the gruesome war that has broken out. More than 46,900 people were killedA large part of the besieged enclave was demolished and more than two million people were displaced. Even before the ceasefire began, hundreds of families were quickly returning to Rafah, having fled after the Israeli invasion, with their few belongings crammed into vehicles, animal carts and bicycles.

Israeli forces continued their attacks on Gaza, killing more Palestinians before the ceasefire began. But that did not stop some families who had already headed to their old neighborhoods and set up camp on the ruins of what were once their homes, eager to get over the darkest months of their lives.

As they crossed the potholed roads that criss-cross Rafah, some families chanted: “We will rebuild.” “We will live.”

“Rafah is gone”

But for many, joy turned to pain as they returned to devastation.

As he surveyed his first home, a 200-square-meter (2,000-square-foot) home, and his second, two-story home of 160 square meters (1,700 square feet), Abdul found nothing but devastation. Visits to the homes of his three brothers revealed similar devastation. With no roof to shelter his family, his dreams of ending their seven-month displacement collapsed.

Abed sat in the rubble and called his wife, who was waiting in Al-Mawasi camp with the family’s belongings loaded onto a truck. He informed them over the phone of the news: their homes were uninhabitable, without walls, water, or basic services. His wife wept bitterly and begged to return despite the destruction, but Abdul insisted that it was impossible.

Their eldest son, Mohammed, picked up the phone to persuade his mother to stay where she was, reassuring her that they would explore ways to prepare to return in the future.

“The Rafah we knew is gone,” Abdel said regretfully. “The streets we grew up on, the places we worked, are now unrecognizable.”

For Abdel’s family of six children, this day marked the end of the misery of displacement. Instead, they face the harsh reality of rebuilding from nothing.

Abdul thought about their shattered hopes. “We thought we would finally escape the tents and live inside the walls again. But now, it feels like a new kind of annihilation – this time, not because of bombs but because of the complete absence of the basics of life.

A desperate homecoming

In the days leading up to the ceasefire, Palestinians in Gaza were bracing for what they hoped would be an end to their misery – more than 1.8 million people suffered from extreme hunger and hundreds of thousands were living in flimsy tents that barely protected them from hunger. The winter that killed children due to hypothermia.

Families like Naseem Abu Alwan’s, who returned their nine children to find their home destroyed, decided to live among the rubble. “We will transport water from afar if necessary,” Naseem said. “We are finished with the tents. We will remain in Rafah no matter what happens.”

According to UN figures, more than 60% of buildings and 65% of roads have been destroyed across Gaza since October 7, 2023, when the war began.

“More than 42 million tons of debris have been generated, including buried human remains, unexploded ordnance, asbestos and other hazardous materials,” the UN Agency for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) report said.

Other Rafah residents, such as Amjad Abdullah, chose to remain in Khan Yunis, not wanting to endure life amidst the rubble. “It is impossible to live here,” he said after finding that his neighborhood was inaccessible even on foot. “Rafah has become a graveyard of buildings. Without water, roads or basic infrastructure, life here is unimaginable.”

According to Muhammad Al-Sufi, the mayor of Rafah, the extent of the destruction in Rafah is “astonishing.”

“The city is uninhabitable,” he told Al Jazeera.

Al-Sufi said, “70 percent of its facilities and infrastructure are destroyed.”

He added, “Key areas such as the Philadelphia Corridor, which constitutes 16 percent of Rafah’s area, remain off-limits, while large areas of eastern Rafah are similarly inaccessible.” The Philadelphia Corridor is a strip of land running along Gaza’s border with Egypt.

Municipal workers are racing against time to clean roads, restore water and address the dangers of unexploded ordnance. But the municipality warns against a hasty return.

“We need a gradual and cautious approach. Without basic services, life cannot resume,” one worker said.

Despite the devastation, Rafah residents remain united. The families cling to their connection to the city, determined to restore what is left of it. As one father said: “We suffered a lot in exile. Rafah is our home, and we will rebuild – even if it takes a lifetime.”

This piece was published in collaboration with For example.