The Long Road Home for Gazans

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Oct 30, 2025

Rachelle Bonja, an audio producer for The New York Times, shares heart-wrenching stories from Gazans returning home after a cease-fire. She interviews Saher Alghorra, who describes the emotional journey through devastated neighborhoods. Nidal Kuhail reflects on his uncertain future and memories of home. Hussein Khaled Auda recounts the tragic loss of his children during airstrikes and his painful quest to recover their remains. The podcast paints a poignant picture of resilience amidst overwhelming destruction.

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ANECDOTE

Seaside Journey Back North

Saher Alghorra walked north along the seaside road among thousands returning to Gaza City after the cease-fire.
He photographed crowds, dusty streets, and people rushing back with a mix of joy and dread.

INSIGHT

Photos Became Proof Of Identity

Saher felt the return changed people's relationship to photography: displaced people once refused photos, now they asked for them.
The shift reflected a desire to record identity and dignity when returning, even amid ruin.

ANECDOTE

Remembering A Home's Warmth

Nidal Kuhail described his childhood home with vivid sensory details: white and purple walls, a desk, a small coffee machine.
He said losing that home felt like losing a 'small country' inside his life and left him with deep agony.

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Earlier this month, after Israel and Hamas reached a cease-fire agreement, the Israeli military said it would withdraw from parts of Gaza — allowing some Palestinians displaced to the south to try to return home to the north.

Rachelle Bonja, a producer of “The Daily,” recently spoke by phone with three Gazans who were making or contemplating the journey home. One of them, Saher Alghorra, is a photojournalist who often works with The Times; another is Nidal Kuhail, a former restaurant worker whom The Times has spoken to over the course of the war.

The third is Hussein Khaled Auda, a former bodybuilder who ran a small gym in Jabalia. Mr. Auda’s story is about his family. His four young children were killed in airstrikes during the war, and his wife was seriously injured. He has been traveling back home in large part to find and bury the remains of two of his children, who had been in the rubble of his house after one of the airstrikes. We interviewed his wife, Rawa, and other relatives, and reviewed death certificates and video footage to help understand what happened to his family.

In our reporting, The Times also learned that a cousin of Mr. Auda’s was a senior leader of Hamas in Gaza who was killed during the war last year. The Times asked Mr. Auda if he himself had any ties to Hamas. He said he was not a member of Hamas and not political, and had dozens of cousins. He said he had seen the one affiliated with Hamas just a couple of times in his life.

Like other news organizations, The Times has not yet been able to send its own staff journalists into Gaza unescorted. This episode, like many other Times pieces for more than two years, seeks to help our audience understand the experiences of Gazans during a devastating war.

Guest:

Rachelle Bonja, a New York Times audio producer for “The Daily.”
Saher Alghorra, a photojournalist for The New York Times.
Nidal Kuhail, a former restaurant worker whom The Times has spoken to over the course of the war.
Hussein Khaled Auda, a former bodybuilder who ran a small gym in Jabalia.
Mohammed Abu Namous, a journalist in Gaza.

Background reading:

“Everything Is Gone”: Gazans return home to find devastation and little hope.
Who were the 2,000 Palestinians freed by Israel?

Photo: Saher Alghorra for The New York Times

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.