Deir al-Balah, Gaza strip – Tens of thousands of Palestinians were killed in a large part of Gaza on Monday for the first time since the first weeks of the 15-month war with Hamas according to loose fire.
Read more: Bittersweet Gaza Resefire
Huge crowds of people walk with their belongings stretched out on the main road that runs along the sea in a dramatic reversal of the return of weight from the north at the start of the war that Israel feared would be permanent.
Palestinians who have been in tents in camps out of sight of schools – the most wheelchair-bound are willing to return to their homes – even though they may be damaged or destroyed.
Yasmin Abu Amshah, a mother of three, said she walked 6 kilometers (about 4 miles) home to Gaza City, where she found it damaged. He also saw his little sister for the first time in over a year.
“It was a long journey, but a happy one,” he said. “The most important thing is that we came back.”
Many see their return as an act of resilience after Israel’s military campaign, launched in response to the Hamas Militant Group Oct. 7, 2023, attacks in southern Israel. This return was also seen as a way for US President Donald Trump’s proposal that a large number of Palestinians be returned to Egypt and Jordan.
‘The Joy of Homecoming’
Ismail Abu important, a father of four who waited three days near the crossing before moving to the North with his family, described the scenes of the chase on the other side, with people singing, praying and crying as they were reunited with relatives.
“It is a joy to return,” said those among the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who fled or were expelled from what is now Israel during the 1948 War surrounding its creation. “We thought we would never come back, like our ancestors.”
The opening was overshadowed by two days of conflict between Hamas and Israel, which the warring faction said changed the order of hostages released in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. Arbitrators settled the dispute overnight.
Hamas said the return was “a victory for our people, and a declaration of failure and victory in the (Israelis’) work to settle and transfer plans.”
The fire aims to bring down the deadliest and most destructive war ever fought between Israel and Hamas and receives the release of the proceeds of the Oct. 7 Attack. The soldiers killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in this attack and captured another 250.
Israel responded with air and ground war, killing more than 47,000 Palestinians, more than half of whom were women and children, according to Gaza’s health ministry. It does not say how many dead could be counted. Israel claims to have killed more than 17,000 soldiers, without providing evidence.
In the first days of the war, Israel ordered to lay the ground in the north and sealed it shortly after entering the ground.
About a million people fled to the south in October 2023, while hundreds of thousands stayed in the north, which had some of the worst and worst destruction of the war. In all, nearly 90% of Gaza’s 2.3 million people were killed.
The search controversy erupted into a long-standing stalemate
Israel had delayed the opening of the crossing, which was supposed to happen at the weekend, it means that it will not admit that the Palestinians are in the north until the ambassador of the country, Arbel Yehov. Israel said he should be released before the four female soldiers, who were released on Saturday.
It also accused Hamas of failing to provide information that the remaining hostages are scheduled to be released in the first phase of whether its deal is alive or dead. About 90 hostages are in the cell inside Gaza, and Israel believes a third of them are dead.
Hamas accused Israel of violating the agreement by not opening the crossing.
The Gulf nation of Qatar, a key mediator with Hamas, announced Monday morning that a deal had been reached to free Nehoud and two other hostages.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that the delegation – which will include Seld Somer Agam Berger – will take place on Thursday. One of the three hostages is expected to be released on Saturday as previously planned.
Hamas also handed over a list of hostages to be released in the first phase of the six-week offensive.
Starting at 7 a.m., Palestinians are allowed to cross on foot without inspection through the coastal road that runs through a part of the city called the Netzarim Corridor, a military zone that leads to Gaza City where Israel is involved in the war. Traffic checks opened later on Gaza’s main North-South Highway, where traffic was backed up for about three kilometers (2 miles).
Under the fire accord, vehicles must undergo a weapons inspection before entering the north, but the method for that was not immediately clear.
Israel’s Defense Minister KATZ said that Israel will continue to use annihilating fire, and that anyone who violates the law or threatens Israeli forces “will bear the full cost.”
“We will not allow the real return of Oct. 7,” he wrote on the X Communication Platform.
A second and more comfortable stage awaits
Under the first phase of the ceasefire, Hamas released a total of 33 intestines in exchange for the release of nearly 2,000 Palestinians arrested by Israel. So far under the banner, the forces have released seven hostages in exchange for more than 300 prisoners, including many convicted of deadly attacks on Israelis.
The second – and more difficult – phase of the agreement is not discussed. Hamas says it will not release the 60 or so hostages unless Israel ends the war, while Netanyahu says he is committed to destroying its 18-year rule over Gaza.
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Magdy reported from Cairo and Krauss from Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
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