Thousands of Palestinians return home to the destruction in north Gaza

For the third straight day, thousands of displaced Palestinians could be seen on Wednesday returning to what is left of their homes in the north of Gaza.

But it is a joy that may soon turn to despair as they leave one disaster zone for another.

Months of intensive Israeli bombardment has laid waste to large swathes of the enclave.

Wheelchair-bound Suad Saleh said the day of the ceasefire was the most difficult of her life.

"Because on the day of the ceasefire I understood that my home was destroyed. Where will I return to? To a tent. From a tent to tent," she said.

“Our suffering is difficult, more difficult than you can imagine. No one can imagine it,” she said after arriving at her shattered home in Gaza City.

Still, columns of people using cars, motorbikes, donkey carts or on foot could be seen heading north along Gaza’s coastal road on Wednesday

They were carrying what was left of their belongings after 15 months of being shunted around the enclave to escape the fighting.

But tough times wait ahead for them in the midst of Gaza’s winter cold. The reality of bombed out homes, dire shortages of food supplies, lack of running water and no electricity.

The United Nations said on Wednesday that over 376,000 Palestinians had reached northern Gaza, since Israeli forces withdrew on Monday.

Allowing them to return home is in line with the 42-day ceasefire agreement that paused the Israel-Hamas war.

It began when Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October 2023. About 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken back to Gaza as hostages.

Palestinian health officials say more than 47,200 Palestinians, most of them civilians, were killed in Israel's subsequent offensive.