By Ramzy Baroud  

An elderly Palestinian man died on the journey home, while another, overcome with joy, ululated, clapped, and sang. A young boy gently held the hand of his great-grandfather as they took the first steps in reversing the Nakba. A little girl recited poetry. This was Gaza today.

When Palestinians were ethnically cleansed from their homes in historic Palestine, many perished along the seemingly endless journey.

Some were killed by Zionist snipers stationed along the way, while others succumbed to exhaustion, hunger, and thirst. A group died from what many survivors have described throughout years of interviewing Nakba refugees: a condition known as “broken hearts.” This ‘ailment’, as viewed by many refugees at the time, was often fatal and struck those who had endured immense loss.

The ‘broken heart’ disease accompanied many Nakba survivors who also died shortly after fleeing their ancestral villages and towns. Forced to live as refugees in Gaza, the West Bank, and across the Middle East, their spirit was crushed by the trauma of displacement.

For the first time in the history of Palestinian exile, a million Palestinians—beginning on January 27, 2025—’returned.’ However, they did not return to their original villages and towns in historic Palestine (today’s Israel). Instead, they returned to northern Gaza, from where they had been forced to flee amidst the ongoing Israeli genocide, which began on the first days of the war.

Without outside help, and without Arab armies coming to the rescue—as the Nakba generation once hoped—these refugees returned due to their own resilience and resistance. This day will be remembered in Palestinian history as the first step toward realizing the Right of Return for Palestinian refugees. It is an earth-shattering moment.

However, an elderly Palestinian man could not complete the journey. He walked as far as his frail body would allow, his old cane offering little support. At one point, his heart failed him, and he collapsed. His family gathered around him, gently caressing his hand, perhaps hoping that their collective love and prayers would bring him back to life.

In the poignant story of this elderly Palestinian refugee, exile was meant to end there. He died, not while journeying south along the dreaded road of exile, but in the north, near his original village in Palestine.

He died of exhaustion on his way to his destroyed home in Gaza. Allah called him to his eternal home instead. He looks so much like the soul of our soul Khaled Nabhan 😢. pic.twitter.com/AoUYRGrp57

— Dr. Omar Suleiman (@omarsuleiman) January 27, 2025

Another elderly Palestinian woman, pushed in a small trolley, survived the journey. The joy in her voice, the endless clapping, and the ululations reflected the chaotic happiness that overwhelmed her. The message was received, and a video documenting this rare moment of a woman who was only a child when she was expelled from Palestine in 1948 suggested a possible happy ending for millions of refugees like her.

An elderly woman is overjoyed and filled with happiness as displaced Palestinians return to northern Gaza after 15 months of displacement, singing traditional Palestinian folk songs. pic.twitter.com/KB4JxMOCh8

— Quds News Network (@QudsNen) January 27, 2025

Then there was the great-grandfather and his great-grandson. The elderly man, so bent over with age that it seemed he was ready to kiss the earth of Gaza, still kept pace. The young boy, strong and full of life, held onto the man’s hands, carrying a few items of clothing salvaged as their family made their way back to their destroyed town in northern Gaza.

No artistic representation could capture the power of that image. No words could suffice. There were no generational gaps worth reflecting on. The man had been a boy during the Nakba, and the boy will be the man who leads the Palestinian journey back home—a journey that has already begun.

A little child holds the hand of his grandfather whilst returning to the north of Gaza. pic.twitter.com/ZhwNpjP6LR

— Eye on Palestine (@EyeonPalestine) January 27, 2025

Finally, a young girl from Gaza composed a poem and eagerly recited it to a journalist, who, along with dozens of others, was documenting this historical moment. A group of women and children stood behind her, smiling with pride as the little girl shared her verses. Here are some of her words:

I am a Palestinian girl, and I am proud.

I am a Palestinian girl, and I am proud.

I am the strong, resilient Palestinian girl,

The daughter of heroes, the daughter of Gaza,

The land of the free.

We who prefer death over shame,

The people of Gaza who have not eaten vegetables,

Because the deceptive Zionists

Have expelled us from our homes,

And ignited a revolution in our hearts,

Like a storm, like a volcano.

And today is the day of victory,

The day we return home.

We are going back to Gaza to rebuild our houses

And break our chains.

I am a Palestinian girl, and I am proud.

“I am Palestinian and proud” …a Palestinian girl from Gaza delivers a poem she wrote herself, expressing her joy at returning to the north. pic.twitter.com/PHsNp0GRoQ

— Eye on Palestine (@EyeonPalestine) January 27, 2025

(The Palestine Chronicle)

– Ramzy Baroud is a journalist and the Editor of The Palestine Chronicle. He is the author of six books. His latest book, co-edited with Ilan Pappé, is “Our Vision for Liberation: Engaged Palestinian Leaders and Intellectuals Speak out”. Dr. Baroud is a Non-resident Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Islam and Global Affairs (CIGA). His website is www.ramzybaroud.net