“My heart is beating, I thought I would never come back,” said Osama, 50 a public servant and father of five, as he arrived in Gaza City. “Whether the ceasefire succeeds or not, we will never leave Gaza City and the north again, even if Israel would sent a tank for each one of us, no more displacement.”
Having been repeatedly displaced over 15 months of war, cheers erupted at shelters and tent encampments when families heard news that the crossings would be opened.
“No sleep, I have everything packed and ready to go with the first light of day,” said Ghada, a mother of five.
“At least we are going back home, now I can say war is over and I hope it will stay calm,” she told Reuters via a chat app.
