Khan Younis and Deir el-Balah, Gaza Strip, Palestine – Saqr Maqdad and his society move ahead on their tough proceed again to northern Gaza overdue on Sunday evening, hours sooner than Israel reopened the north for the primary past because the early days of its 15-month battle at the Palestinian enclave, following a delicate ceasefire oath with Hamas.
Departure in the back of the Khan Younis displacement camp within the south, the 31-year-old, at the side of his spouse, and two daughters, Reema, 5, and two-year-old Rawaa, walked northward alongside the coastal al-Rashid highway hoping to succeed in Beit Hanoon, the society’s native land, on the a long way northern tip of the besieged space.
The Maqdad society had been amongst an estimated 200,000 Palestinians who streamed again into probably the most devastated portions of the Gaza Strip on Monday, a dramatic go back to subjects many had feared Israel would by no means let them re-enter within the aftermath of the battle.
When Al Jazeera met them as they handed thru central Gaza, that they had already walked roughly 20 kilometres (12.4 miles), wearing just a few tiny baggage of clothes.
However the society had been enthusiastic however, adamant that they might go back house.
“We’re going back to the place where we grew up, the land that holds our memories,” Saqr stated. “Even if it’s destroyed, it’s still ours.”
That sentiment, implicitly shared via the hundreds journeying north, is in direct struggle with feedback made via United States President Donald Trump on Saturday, the place he steered that Palestinians in Gaza may well be despatched to neighbouring Jordan and Egypt.
“You’re talking about probably a million and a half people, and we just clean out that whole thing and say: ‘You know, it’s over’,” Trump stated.
Day Trump stated that the exit is usually a transient measure, his feedback drew fast backlash, with critics accusing him of advocating for collection displacement, in particular in brightness of the Israeli far-right’s push for unlawful Israeli settlements in Gaza.
“Trump’s talk of relocating us is pure fantasy,” Saqr scoffed. “Does he think, after everything we’ve endured, we’ll just leave? This is our home, and we’re staying.”
He emphasized that his society’s proceed to Beit Hanoon used to be about extra than just returning house.
“It’s a message to the occupation and its backers: we will not abandon our land. We’ll stay here, no matter the cost.”
Throughout Gaza, Palestinians have unwelcome Trump’s proposal, viewing it as an extension of efforts to “uproot them from their land”, Saqr added.
“No political scheme, no matter how powerful, can change that,” he defined.
“Every step we took back to the north was a step against displacement,” he stated. “This is our land. We were born here, and we will die here.”
Refuse relocation
In southern Gaza’s Khan Younis, 76-year-old Abu Suleiman Zawaraa has been quietly waging his personal method of resistance. His farm, as soon as teeming with olive and citrus timber, used to be razed all through a months-long Israeli army operation. Abu Suleiman has spent the pace few months reclaiming the land.
“I’ve cleared seven dunams [7,000 square metres] of rubble by hand,” he stated, gesturing against the freshly tilled terrain. “Why? Because this is my land, and no one can take it from me.”
For Abu Suleiman, the operate of farming could also be a declaration of defiance.
“Living among the rubble is a challenge, but it’s one we’ve accepted,” he stated. “Leaving Gaza is out of the question. We’ve survived bombardments, destruction, and loss. We will not give up now.”
Israel’s army marketing campaign in Gaza, introduced on October 7, 2023, has left an unheard of toll at the enclave. With greater than 46,700 Palestinians lifeless, together with 18,000 youngsters, and just about 1.9 million community displaced, there may be slight left brandnew. Greater than part of Gaza’s structures were broken or destroyed, together with vital infrastructure: 92 p.c of number one roads and 84 p.c of condition amenities were compromised.
Abu Suleiman disregarded Trump’s relocation feedback, pronouncing he “doesn’t understand history or reality”.
“A people who have endured 15 months of relentless bombardment and refused to leave will never agree to forced relocation,” Abu Suleiman stated.
For lots of Palestinians, the chance of escape their fatherland is not only unthinkable; this is a betrayal in their historical past and id.
“Yes, we have endured unimaginable suffering, the destruction of everything we own, and the trauma of genocide,” stated Abu Suleiman. “But none of this can push anyone to accept displacement. Our memories of the Nakba in 1948 remain vivid. Those who left then never returned, and we will not let history repeat itself.”
The Nakba, or “catastrophe”, the development that Abu Suleiman referred to, used to be the pressured displacement of no less than 750,000 Palestinians from their houses in 1948 upon the formation of Israel on 78 p.c of historic Palestine.
That reminiscence has stayed for plenty of Palestinians, and continuously shapes their movements nowadays.
Abu Suleiman identified that alternatives to drop Gaza had been to be had all through or even sooner than the battle, however community have overwhelmingly selected to stick, whilst dying loomed nearer than pace.
“We see ourselves as part of the resistance, as defenders of Palestine. To give in or leave would mean paying a price the entire nation cannot afford,” he stated. “This heavy burden only strengthens our resolve to hold on to our land, even if it means living amid ruins.”
Israa Mansour, a 35-year-old mom of 4 residing in a makeshift tent next her house used to be destroyed in Khan Younis, subsidized Abu Suleiman’s argument.
“We refuse to leave, not because we lack options, but because this is our home,” she stated. “Even my children understand the value of staying in our land despite the suffering.”
Israa argued, alternatively, that Palestinian leaders should step as much as handover minimal aid, together with schooling, healthcare, and crisis backup, to support community face up to the insufferable situations.
“How can we fight displacement if we lack the basic necessities of life? Is it reasonable to expect Gaza to endure this inferno indefinitely while demanding more resilience from its people?” Israa stated. “Without food, shelter, and basic needs, even the strongest families might be forced to consider alternatives, not out of a lack of patriotism, but out of sheer desperation.”
‘This is our land’
Hani al-Aqqad, a Palestinian political analyst from Gaza, sees Palestinian refusal to leave their land as a vital reason why for why he believes Trump’s proposed relocation plan will fail.
“Every past attempt to displace Palestinians has failed because they consider this fight their own,” he stated. “When families camp in the open for days, just to return to the ruins of their northern towns, it’s the ultimate expression of determination to stay.”
Al-Aqqad pointed to the collection go back of displaced Palestinians to northern Gaza, regardless of all the devastation and deficit of products and services within the area, which used to be in particular centered via Israel all through the battle, as a message to each Israel and world proponents of relocation.
“Trump and others fail to understand the Palestinians,” he stated. “This is not just about living on land; it’s about a relationship with their homeland that is uncompromising and deeply rooted in history and identity.”
“The return to the north, knowing what awaits, is a clear rejection of forced relocation,” al-Aqqad stated. “Those advocating for such schemes must accept that Palestinians will never leave their land. Instead, they should focus on recognising their rights and supporting a pathway to statehood.”
He additionally disregarded the speculation of “voluntary displacement” thru planned deprivation.
“Israel has succeeded in making Gaza nearly unlivable,” he stated. “But they have failed to separate Palestinians from their land. Palestinians in Gaza have proven time and again that they can revive even the most devastated places, knowing their struggle is not just about survival but a national mission.”
This text is printed in collaboration with Egab.