Photo: Collected
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians streamed into Gaza's most heavily destroyed area on Monday after Israel opened the north for the first time since the early weeks of the war with Hamas, a dramatic reversal of their exodus 15 months ago. As the fragile ceasefire held into a second week, Israel was informed by Hamas that eight of the hostages to be freed during the deal's first phase are dead.
Joyous crowds of Palestinians, some holding babies or pushing wheelchairs, walked along a seaside road all day and into the night, carrying bedrolls, bottles of water and other belongings. A few armed, masked Hamas fighters flashed a victory sign. The crowd was watched over by Israeli tanks on a nearby hill.
The United Nations said over 200,000 people were observed moving north in Gaza on Monday morning alone.
Palestinians who have been sheltering in squalid tent camps and former schools are eager to return to their homes - even though they are likely damaged or destroyed. Many had feared that Israel would make their displacement permanent.
Yasmin Abu Amshah, a mother of three, said she walked 6 kilometers (nearly 4 miles) to reach her damaged but habitable Gaza City home. She saw her younger sister for the first time in over a year.
"It was a long trip, but a happy one," she said.
Many saw their return as an act of steadfastness after Israel's military campaign, launched in response to the Hamas militant group's Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel. The return was also seen as a repudiation of US President Donald Trump's suggestion that many Palestinians be resettled in Egypt and Jordan, which those countries have rejected.
Messenger/Tareq
