“There are many stories among the tens of thousands of people walking along Gaza’s al-Rashid Street, heading for their homes in the north,” Al Jazeera’s Maram Humaid reports from Al-Rashid Street, Gaza City, Palestine.

In the crowds is a man with a white beard, walking with determination alongside his family. In one hand, he carries a blanket and a few meagre possessions. In the other, he holds onto his adult son, who has Down Syndrome.

Rifaat Jouda doesn’t pretend that he isn’t tired. He started his journey in the morning in southern Gaza, in Khan Younis’s al-Mawasi area, where his family had been forcibly displaced for 15 months by Israeli forces.

“His aim was to reach Gaza City — a journey finally made possible after Israel allowed Palestinians to travel north on Monday, after a ceasefire began on January 19,” she reports.

But it’s a long walk — some 30km along a coastal road — and Rifaat’s family were forced to stop to rest every hour. “The journey has been exhausting and very difficult,” Rifaat told Al Jazeera, after finally reaching Gaza City.

“Despite that, we were determined to return.”

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