Longing to return to their homes, Palestinians chose the relative safety and familiarity of their wrecked and damaged houses over displacement.

For some of the returnees, restoring their homes is a slow process.

Mohamed and Amany Halawa returned to their home in Jabaliya in northern Gaza with their children after months of displacement, only to find it in complete ruins.

There was no staircase to access the house, but nonetheless they were determined to return.

Being sheltered in their crumpling home remained a better option than being overcrowded and in constant fear of being flooded in Muawsi.

Mohamed improvised a wooden makeshift staircase that his family uses to climb to their bare-bones house.

Being close to the yellow line buffer zone, Mohamed said they constantly hear sounds of strikes.

But he told the Associated Press he will not leave his home, even if there are dangers close by.

He would rather remain in the wreckage then suffer again living in a tent.

Having recently returned from southern Gaza, Yaqoub Awad and his family found themselves similarly forced to stay under a crumbling ceiling.

“We were forced to stay here under this ceiling to protect ourselves against the winter, he said, as his little son softly caressed his face.

Although he tried to ask for tarps to shield his family from the rain and cold, no one has helped them.