After 15 months of war, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are returning to northern Gaza as part of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
Early Monday, the displaced Palestinians – huddled together and carrying their belongings in sacks and plastic bags – began heading north on foot through the Israeli Netzarim Corridor, which bisects the strip.
The Israeli army said earlier on Monday that it would allow Palestinians to cross the coastal Al-Rashid street on foot from 7 a.m. (0500 GMT) and the central Salah Al-Din street by vehicle from 9 a.m. (0700 GMT).
“I will start rebuilding my house brick by brick, Wall by Wall,” one forcibly displaced Palestinian told Tel Aviv Tribune.
“We’re going to start by removing the debris and rebuilding it again.”
Tel Aviv Tribune’s Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Al-Rashid Street, said there was a “sense of excitement and happiness” after Israel announced times for people to return home in the north.
“We saw a change in everyone’s mood. We have never seen people so happy in the last 15 months,” he said.
“People are describing this moment as historic. They say it is as important as announcing a ceasefire. For them, it is a victorious day. »
Many people returning north were defiant.
“I can’t describe my feeling. It’s a festive day for us, as if we have been resurrected and are now entering heaven,” a displaced young man told Tel Aviv Tribune.
“I have a message: we, the Palestinians, are the rightful owners of this land. We will not move. Our resolve cannot be dented. We have sacrificed 50,000 lives and 110,000 injuries in the last 15 months alone. We have sacrificed our homes, our schools, our hospitals and our entire infrastructure, but we will not move. »
Hamas called the return “a victory” for the Palestinians while its ally Palestinian Islamic Jihad said it was a “response to all those who dream of displacing our people.”
In a statement, Hamas said Palestinians returning to areas in which they were forcibly displaced “prove that the occupation is achieving the aggressive goals of displacing people and breaking their firm will.”
At the start of the war, Israel forcibly evacuated around 1.1 million people from northern Gaza to prepare for a ground invasion.
Israel delayed the opening of the Netzarim corridor, originally planned over the weekend, over Hamas’s failure to release the latest exchange of captive prisoners on Saturday.
Hamas accused Israel of violating the ceasefire despite the group informing mediators that Yehud was alive and guarantees for his release.
On Sunday, Israeli forces prevented Palestinian civilians from approaching the Netzarim corridor, shooting into crowds several times and killing at least two Palestinians, according to medical sources.
Israel agreed to open the crossing on Monday after Qatar’s foreign ministry announced that Hamas had agreed to release Yehud and two other captives by Friday.
‘Promising little sign’
Omar Baddar, former deputy director of the Arab American Institute, said he was cautiously optimistic that Palestinians would return home to northern Gaza.
“There is no doubt that Israel has ambitions to conquer North Gaza. This is part of the reason why they completely destroyed it and expelled people from the area,” Baddar told Tel Aviv Tribune.
“So while it’s a small promising sign – that they’re going to allow within this deal to come back – they’re allowing them to go back into an area that is completely devastated. There is no indication that they are going to allow them to rebuild their houses in this area,” he said.
Israel’s war in Gaza has killed at least 47,306 Palestinians and injured 111,483 since October 7, 2023.
At least 1,139 people were killed in Israel in Hamas-led attacks that day, and more than 200 were taken captive.
Palestinian authorities have said the actual death toll during 15 months of relentless Israeli air and ground assaults is likely to be much higher as they continue to recover bodies from the rubble.
Israeli attacks have displaced around 90% of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents with many forced to move multiple times.
