Tens of thousands of Palestinians make the moving return on foot to see what is left of their north Gaza homes amid the rubble of 15 months of bloody warfare as the Israel-Hamas ceasefire holds
Tens of thousands of Gazans began the long and heartbreaking reverse-exodus back to their wrecked homes in the Strip’s most heavily-hit community this morning.
Dramatic images have emerged of crowds of Palestinians walking back to north Gaza, heavily-laden with their belongings, many of them dreading what they will find. It was the first time Israeli troops have lifted their closure of the north since the early weeks of a bloody 15-month war which has likely killed more than 47,000 neighbours and loved ones.
As phase one of the fragile ceasefire that has brought temporary respite still holds tension in the background is mounting over future releases of hostages and prisoners. But for now traumatised Palestinians returning to their homes, many of them reduced to rubble, were guarded and yet jubilant as they face a new future and hopefully peace.
One Palestinian man told reporters: “We are so happy. For now it is a huge relief. We have slept on the road for days waiting for this to happen. I am so happy to go back to my home.”
Mother-of-three Yasmin Abu Amshah walked almost four miles to reach her home in Gaza City and she is one of the lucky ones despite the trauma of the war. She found her home damaged but it is still habitable and she saw her younger sister for the first time in over a year. She told reporters simply: “It was a long trip, but a happy one. The most important thing is that we returned.”
Palestinians who have been sheltering in squalid tent camps and schools-turned-shelters for over a year are eager to return to their homes. Many saw their return as an act of steadfastness after Israel ‘s military campaign, which was launched in response to the Hamas militant group’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel. The return was also in defiance of U.S. President Donald Trump’s suggestion that large numbers of Palestinians be resettled in Egypt and Jordan.
Ismail Abu Matter, a father of four who waited for three days near the crossing point before moving north with his family, described scenes on the other side, with people singing, praying and crying as they were reunited with relatives. He said: “It’s the joy of return,” said Abu Matter, whose relatives were among the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who fled or were driven out of what is now Israel during the 1948 war surrounding its creation.
He added: “We had thought we wouldn’t return, like our ancestors.” The opening was delayed for two days over a dispute between Hamas and Israel, which said the militant group changed the order of the hostages it released in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. Mediators resolved the dispute overnight and more releases of hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners are expected this week. Hamas said the return was “a victory for our people, and a declaration of failure and defeat for the (Israeli) occupation and transfer plans.”
It is believed the heavily-armed armed militants may be on the rise again and still control much of Gaza – as illustrated by their presence in previous prisoner-hostage swaps. The ceasefire is aimed at winding down the deadliest and most destructive war ever fought between Israel and Hamas and securing the release of dozens of hostages captured in the Oct. 7 attack. Militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in that assault and abducted another 250.
Israel responded with an air and ground war that has killed many women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. It does not say how many of the dead were combatants. Israel says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence. In the opening days of the war, Israel ordered the wholescale evacuation of the north and sealed it off shortly after ground troops moved in.
Around a million people fled to the south in October 2023, while hundreds of thousands remained in the north, which had some of the heaviest fighting and the worst destruction of the war. In all, around 90% of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have been displaced. Israel had delayed the opening of the crossing, which was supposed to happen over the weekend, saying it would not allow Palestinians north until a female civilian hostage, Arbel Yehoud, was released. Israel said she should have been released before four young female soldiers, who were freed on Saturday.
It also accused Hamas of failing to provide information on whether the remaining hostages set to be freed in the first phase of the deal are alive or dead. Around 90 hostages are still inside Gaza, and Israel believes around a third of them are dead. Hamas in turn accused Israel of violating the agreement by not opening the crossing. But key mediator with Hamas Qatar announced early Monday that an agreement had been reached to release Yehoud along with two other hostages.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that the hostage release – which will include female soldier Agam Berger – will take place on Thursday. Another three hostages are expected to be released on Saturday as previously planned. Hamas also handed over a list of information about the hostages to be released in the ceasefire’s six-week first phase.
Starting at 7 a.m., Palestinians were allowed to cross on foot without inspection via a coastal road passing through part of the so-called Netzarim corridor, a military zone bisecting the territory just south of Gaza City that Israel carved out early in the war. A checkpoint for vehicles opened later on Gaza’s main north-south highway, where traffic was backed up for around two miles.
Under the ceasefire agreement, vehicles are to be inspected for weapons before entering the north, but the mechanism for that was not immediately clear. Defence Minister Israel Katz said Israel would continue to enforce the ceasefire, and that anyone violating it or threatening Israeli forces “will bear the full cost.” He said: “We will not allow a return to the reality of Oct. 7.”
Under the first phase of the ceasefire, Hamas is to free a total of 33 hostages in exchange for the release of nearly 2,000 Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. So far under the truce, the militants have released seven hostages in exchange for more than 300 prisoners, including many serving life sentences for deadly attacks on Israelis.
The second – and far more difficult – phase of the agreement has not yet been negotiated. Hamas says it will not release the remaining 60 or so hostages unless Israel ends the war, while Netanyahu says he is still committed to destroying the militant group and ending its nearly 18-year rule over Gaza.