![Palestinian families packing their belongings in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, January 27, 2025 [Mohamed Soulaimane/Al Jazeera]](https://esbecgroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Palestinians-reject-Trumps-relocation-plan-as-they-return-to-Gazas-north.jpg)
Khan Younis and Deir el-Balah, Gaza Strip, Palestine – Saqr Maqdad and his family set out on their difficult journey back to northern Gaza late on Sunday night, hours before Israel reopened the north for the first time since the early days of its 15-month war on the Palestinian enclave, following a fragile ceasefire agreement with Hamas. Leaving behind the Khan Younis displacement camp in the south, the 31-year-old, along with his wife, and two daughters, Reema, 5, and two-year-old Rawaa, walked northward along the coastal al-Rashid road hoping to reach Beit Hanoon, the family’s hometown, at the far northern tip of the besieged territory. The Maqdad family were among an estimated 200,000 Palestinians who streamed back into the most devastated parts of the Gaza Strip on Monday, a dramatic
