One person who returned to his house in Jabalia said the BBC that “it is impossible to describe” the destruction around him.
“You’re talking to me while I cleanse the space to put a tent … We are trying to manage yourself and find a way to live here,” said 48-year-old Imad Ali al-ain over the phone.
“I was happy and chanted on the way back, but when I reached the house, I was disappointed from the catastrophic scene in front of me. I would like never to come.”
UN estimates that about 70% of the gas buildings were damaged or destroyed since October 2023, with most of the worst destruction in the north.
Sam Rose, acting director of the UN Refugee Refugee (Herp) agency, said the BBC that the population in northern Gaza is probably “will double in a few days.”
“What they are coming back, many are full devastation scenes. They know before traveling that their houses are likely to be destroyed or badly damaged, but they want to return home,” he said.
“Ever since the ceasefire has come into force a week ago, the main supplies of assistance come, so we can provide food, some water, basic shelters, some monitoring of particularly vulnerable cases. But it is massive, massive effort from us.”
