Abd al-Karim, a Palestinian man displaced by the ongoing war, has seen his life turned upside down. He lost everything during the conflict, including his home and a fruit farm that once provided for his family. “The decision (to leave) was difficult and as I told you, I did not make the decision in the beginning. I endured for more than five months,” Abd al-Karim recalled.
Now, his family resides in the Egyptian city of El-Arish, alongside many other displaced Palestinians who fled the violence. “I have one wish for the war to end, for peace to prevail in the country and for me to return, to return to my homeland,” he said, longing for a return to Gaza.
The current ceasefire is set to expire in early March, and there is uncertainty about whether the truce will be extended. The war has ravaged Gaza, turning it into a land of destruction. The Israeli and Egyptian blockade, which has been in place since Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007, has worsened the living conditions in the enclave. The economy of Gaza had already suffered from the previous conflicts and internal divisions before the latest war, but now it is facing unparalleled devastation.
Abd al-Karim’s eldest son, Karim, spoke about the family’s hardship: “We stayed in a small room for 200 days. After that, we left Gaza for El-Arish.” Since the ceasefire took effect, many Palestinians have returned to find their homes destroyed.
The toll of the war has displaced nearly 90% of Gaza’s population, leaving many with nothing to return to. Karim, still yearning for his home, expressed his wish: “I wish we could go back to our country (Gaza), that I could return to my friends, relatives, and uncles. And I wish for Gaza to return to the way it was (before the war), even better.”
Despite the devastation caused by the conflict, many Palestinians reject plans that would depopulate Gaza, a coastal enclave with a rich history. The desire for peace and return is a shared hope among countless displaced families like Abd al-Karim’s.
