Gaza war: Jabalia residents describe ‘horrifying’ destruction

One of the returnees told BBC Arabic’s Gaza Lifeline programme that he and his seven-year-old son had seen “the bodies of martyrs scattered everywhere in the streets” on Saturday.

“East Jabalia has been subjected to an unprecedented devastation,” Diab Abu Salama said. “All the stores in Jabalia have been destroyed, as well as the homes surrounding them.”

“There is no doubt that the goal of the occupation [Israel] in displacing people and destroying their homes and shops is to force them to leave this country,” he claimed, before adding: “But we will remain steadfast.”

Musaed Zaqzouq, meanwhile, described how he found only rubble where his home had stood three weeks ago.

“The scene was very horrible,” he said. “The family home was completely destroyed, and so was the neighbourhood in which I lived.”

“Water pipes were destroyed… sewage channels were damaged,” he added. “There is no longer one suitable place for habitation.”

A woman, who asked not to be named, said the level of devastation was such that “we walk in the streets as if we are seeing them for the first time”.

She also urged the international community to take action to help Palestinians in Jabalia and elsewhere in Gaza.

“What is the reason for all this mass destruction?” she asked. “Please, hurry and come to us to see how much we are tormented.”

Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza to destroy Hamas in response to the group’s cross-border attack on southern Israel on 7 October, during which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage.

At least 36,470 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.