Residents of the northern Gaza town of Jabaliya were left in shock as they returned to their homes after three weeks of an Israeli offensive. The level of devastation they encountered was beyond their expectations, with streets blocked by rubble from destroyed homes and shops, making it impossible for vehicles to navigate.
Mohammad Awais, a resident who returned with his family, described the destruction as “indescribable” and said that their minds couldn’t comprehend what they were seeing. As they walked through the devastated roads, they witnessed rescue workers carrying the wounded and bodies of those killed on stretchers, with some bodies already decomposing in the rubble.
The Israeli military announced that they had finished their offensive in eastern Jabaliya and had withdrawn after recovering the bodies of hostages, killing fighters, and destroying miles of underground tunnels. Satellite imagery captured the scale of destruction in the town, showing flattened structures and razed vegetation.
Despite the devastation, Awais and his family were fortunate to have a partially damaged home to return to. They began the daunting task of cleaning out the debris to make their home inhabitable again, but their family supermarket was entirely destroyed.
Residents who returned to Jabaliya expressed their disbelief and sorrow at the level of destruction, with one journalist describing it as “rubble and destruction and wreckage. And more massacres.” The town, established by Palestinian refugees over 70 years ago, has been a community for those who were expelled from their homes during the creation of Israel.
The aftermath of the Israeli offensive has left residents grappling with the loss of businesses, infrastructure, and shelters that once housed thousands of displaced people. The intentional destruction of essential resources has left the community in despair, with many struggling to come to terms with the devastation they have witnessed.
