Hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians in Gaza began returning to the northern Gaza Strip on Monday for the first time since the war started after mediators brokered an agreement tied to the release of an Israeli captive.
According to the Gaza health ministry, around 650,000 displaced people in the central and southern Gaza Strip will return to their homes in the north of the enclave.
“The passage of displaced Palestinians has begun along the Al Rashid road via the western part of the Netzarim checkpoint towards Gaza City and the northern part of the Gaza Strip,” a Hamas official told AFP.
Footage from Israel’s Channel 12 showed Israeli forces withdrawing from the so-called Netzarim Corridor, enabling civilian movement.
Sami Saleh, who was displaced several times south of Gaza, told MEE he had faced an “extremely difficult” period of displacement for over a year.
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Saleh said that he had been waiting for more than a day near the corridor, excited to finally move back to his homeland in north Gaza.
“I won’t hide these feelings and I am not exaggerating when I say this, I wanted to fly to the north… these feelings have been there from the start. Despite all the pain and hardship, I had to make my way back to the north no matter what, even if I had to walk there barefoot,” he expressed.
Videos showed trucks, cars, and carts loaded with belongings queuing along the al-Rashid road near the checkpoint, which runs along Gaza’s coastline.
Hamas called the return of displaced Palestinians “a victory” for Palestinians and “a setback for Israel,” Al Jazeera Arabic reported. The group said the images prove “the occupation has failed to achieve its goal of displacing people and breaking their will”.
Hannan Thabet told MEE that she is making her way north to see her 75-year-old mother.
“From the day I was displaced, I have been crying… I’ve been exhausted mentally,” she said with tears in her eyes.
Her mother had been enduring the starvation wrought on the north of the enclave following Israel’s complete siege over the area. “I haven’t seen my mother for a year and a half… my mother had been resilient,” Thabet said.
“I salute [my mother] and salute every woman in Gaza that has been resilient and patient.”
On Sunday, Israel blocked displaced Palestinians from crossing into northern Gaza, following a dispute over the release of a female Israeli captive.
In central Gaza, columns of people were waiting along the main roads leading north, some in vehicles and others on foot. Photos showed cars and trucks loaded with mattresses and tents that were used to shelter families for over a year in the central and southern areas of Gaza.
Palestinians joyful despite loss
Qatar, mediating alongside Egypt and the US, announced late Sunday that Hamas would hand over Arbel Yehud and two other captives by Friday. Israel will provide a list of 400 Palestinians arrested since 7 October, Doha also said.
Following the agreement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a post on X that displaced Palestinians would begin returning north on Monday morning.
Palestinians in northern Gaza return home to rubble and destruction
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An Israeli military statement announced that Palestinians will be allowed to cross al-Rashid Street by foot starting at 7am and the eastern Salah al-Din Street by vehicle from 9am.
Riad Abu Sharekh, a displaced Palestinian from Jabalia, told MEE that despite his challenges he will return to his home in the north.
Abu Sharekh talked about his losses during the war, including his right leg and his house, but said that this day is “more joyful than if it were Eid”, the celebrations within the Islamic faith.
“I am content with what God has chosen for me… if I had to walk from here to my home [in the north], I will walk, I have no problem with that. As long as I make my return to my dear home.”
Like Abu Sharekh, the overwhelming majority of Gaza’s population has been displaced and had their houses destroyed by Israel’s 15-month war, which has devastated much of Gaza and killed over 47,000 people.
However, that did not stop tens of thousands of Palestinians from waiting on the road blocked by Israeli forces to return to their homes.
Ismail al-Thawabta, director general of Gaza’s government media office, said on Sunday there were “between 615,000 and 650,000” people waiting to go past the Israeli military positions in the Netzarim Corridor.
Many people spent the night sleeping on Salah al-Din Road, the main thoroughfare running from north to south, as well as on the coastal road heading north.
