CAIRO—After months of living in makeshift shelter, tens of thousands of Palestinians poured along Gaza’s main roadways heading north on Monday, excited to be going home but also terrified of what might be left of their houses amid the bombed-out rubble.
After Hamas promised to turn over three Israeli captives later this week and Israeli soldiers started to evacuate a main route across the enclave in accordance with a truce agreement in the 15-month-long conflict, their return—which had been postponed over the weekend—went forward.
People were walking north along a road that ran beside Gaza’s Mediterranean shore, some with babies in their arms and others with bundles of things on their shoulders.
Umm Mohammed Ali, a Palestinian mother who was among the thousands of people who slowly made their way along the beachfront route, remarked, “It feels like I was born again and we won again.”
After the first crossing point in central Gaza opened at 7am (05:00 GMT or 10:00 PKT), witnesses reported that the first residents came in Gaza City early in the morning. About three hours later, a second crossing opened to allow cars to enter.
Osama, 50, a father of five and a public servant, remarked upon his arrival in Gaza City, “My heart is beating, I thought I would never come back.”
“We will never again leave Gaza City and the north, even if Israel sends a tank for each of us; there will be no more displacement, whether the ceasefire is successful or not.”
Families who had been moved numerous times over the 15 months of the conflict cheered when they learned that the crossings would be opened at shelters and tent encampments.
Ghada, a mother of five, declared, “I have everything packed and ready to go with the first light of day,” meaning she didn’t sleep. Through a chat app, she told Reuters, “At least we are returning home. I can now say that the war is over and I hope it stays calm.”
As Hamas-hired officials in red vests led people along the road, families posed for pictures, men pulled the elderly in wheelchairs, and children with bags and warm jackets walked hand in hand.
Devastation
During the conflict, around 650,000 Palestinians were forced to flee northern Gaza.
Since Israel declared several areas of Gaza to be humanitarian zones, then emptied them out before launching bombardments and ground operations there, many of the displaced have had to relocate multiple times. A large portion of Gaza is currently in ruins.
As they attempt to rebuild their lives in the debris-strewn area of their old homes, returnees to the north require at least 135,000 tents and shelters, according to the Gaza government media office.
A Hamas official told Reuters on Monday that the organization had sent mediators a list indicating that 25 out of the 33 inmates set to be released in the first round are still alive. Seven inmates released after the truce started on January 19 were included in the 25-person total.
According to an Israeli government spokesman, Israel has verified that the 25 Hamas members on the list are still alive, while the other eight were dead. Families were left feeling both hopeful and terrified because it was not immediately clear who was dead and who was alive.
Israeli airstrike
Meanwhile, two Palestinians were murdered Monday in the West Bank city of Tulkarm by an Israeli airstrike. The two dead, according to Hamas, were part of its armed wing. City witnesses reported that a raid was in progress.
Without providing their names, the Palestinian health ministry acknowledged that two persons had been slain.
A huge operation involving hundreds of Israeli forces supported by armored vehicles, drones, and helicopters appeared to be entering its second week in Jenin, farther north, as smoke rose above the city’s neighboring refugee camp.
Buildings and roads in the camp, a densely populated township established for descendants of Palestinians who fled or were displaced during the 1948 war surrounding the establishment of the state of Israel, have been demolished by armored bulldozers and diggers, and thousands of residents have abandoned their homes.
Since the operation began a week ago, at least 16 Palestinians have been slain in Jenin and the adjacent regions, including four who were allegedly militants for the Islamic Jihad and Hamas.
