NUSEIRAT, PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES — Masses of displaced Palestinians began streaming towards the north of the war-battered Gaza Strip on Monday after Israel and Hamas said they had reached a deal for the release of another six hostages.
Also on Monday, the Israeli government said eight of the hostages held in Gaza who were due for release in the first phase of the truce are dead.
The fragile ceasefire and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas is intended to bring an end to the more than 15-month war that began with the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.
Israel had been preventing Palestinians from returning to their homes in northern Gaza, accusing Hamas of violating the terms of the truce, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said late Sunday they would be allowed to pass after a new agreement was reached.
Hamas had said blocking the returns amounted to a truce violation.
Crowds began making their way north along a coastal road on foot Monday morning, carrying what belongings they could, AFPTV images showed.
“This is the happiest day of my life,” said Lamees Al Iwady, a 22-year-old who returned to Gaza City on Monday after being displaced several times.
“I feel as though my soul and life have returned to me,” she said. “We will rebuild our homes, even if it’s with mud and sand.”
A Gaza security official told AFP that “more than 200,000 displaced people have returned to Gaza and North Gaza” in the first two hours of the day.
With the joy of return came the shock of the extent of the destruction wrought by more than a year of war.
According to the government media office, 135,000 tents and caravans are needed in Gaza City and the north to shelter returning families.
Still, Hamas called the return “a victory” for Palestinians that “signals the failure and defeat of the plans for occupation and displacement”.
