The Long Road Home for Gazans

What It Covers

Palestinians return to Gaza's north after ceasefire, finding 90% of buildings damaged or destroyed. Photojournalist and displaced families document journeys home through rubble, including one father burying four children killed in airstrikes.

Key Questions Answered

• •Displacement scale: 90% of Gaza's population displaced during war, with 4 out of 5 buildings damaged or destroyed. Returning families find neighborhoods unrecognizable, with entire city blocks reduced to rubble exposing Mediterranean Sea views previously blocked by towers.
• •Casualty documentation: 68,000 Palestinians killed including 18,000 children, with 9,000 missing presumed dead under debris. Many bodies remain uncounted, complicating efforts by families to locate and properly bury relatives killed in strikes on residential buildings throughout conflict.
• •Medical infrastructure collapse: Hospitals unable to perform complex surgeries requiring hours of operating time, prioritizing quantity over individual cases. Injured civilians requiring specialized procedures told to leave Gaza entirely, as facilities lack equipment and capacity for lengthy operations during ongoing crisis.
• •Psychological transformation: Displaced Palestinians shift from refusing photographs during displacement to requesting documentation of their return journey. Families wear best clothes traveling home despite destruction, seeking to preserve dignity and document moment of return after months in tents and temporary shelters.