An estimated 600,000 displaced Palestinians are returning to northern Gaza by vehicles and on foot through the Israeli occupation’s “Netzarim Corridor,” which separates the territory’s southern part from the north.
They are returning via the coastal Al-Rashid Street to northern Gaza under a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.
Vehicles were scheduled to pass through the Netzarim Corridor at 9 am local time (0700GMT) but their passage was delayed due to the late arrival of a technical team responsible for inspections, according to an Anadolu reporter.
Vehicles go through an X-ray device at the crossing before being allowed into northern Gaza under the ceasefire agreement.
The return of Palestinians came hours after Qatar mediated an agreement between Hamas and Israel under which the Palestinian group agreed to release female Israeli captive Arbel Yehud and two others by Friday.
Hamas said the return was a victory for their people and a defeat for Israel and its expulsion plans.
“The return of the displaced is a victory for our people and a declaration of the failure and defeat of the (Israeli) occupation and its displacement plans,” senior leader Izzat al-Rishq said in a statement.
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“The return of our displaced people to their homes proves once again the failure of the occupation in achieving its aggressive goals of displacing our people and breaking their resolute will,” he added.
The first six-week phase of the ceasefire agreement took effect on Jan. 19, suspending Israel’s genocidal war that has killed more than 47,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, and injured more than 111,000 since Oct. 7, 2023.
Seven Israeli captives, including four soldiers, have so far been released in return for 290 Palestinian prisoners since the deal came into force.
The Israeli onslaught has left more than 11,000 people missing, with widespread destruction and a humanitarian crisis that has claimed the lives of many elderly people and children in one of the worst global humanitarian disasters ever.
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in November last year for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
In other related developments:
- Israel’s Former National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir condemned the return of thousands of displaced Palestinians to their homes in northern Gaza on Monday as “total surrender.” “This is not what ‘total victory’ looks like – this is what total surrender looks like,” Ben-Gvir wrote on his X account. Ben-Gvir, who resigned from the government in opposition to the deal, said the return of the displaced Palestinians is “another humiliating part” of what he called the “reckless” Gaza deal. “We must return to war — and destroy!” said Ben-Gvir, the leader of the far-right Otzma Yehudit Party.
- The Palestinian presidency on Monday rejected plans aimed at creating an “alternative homeland” for Palestinians. “Projects of resettlement and alternative homelands are unacceptable and only serve to reinforce instability and chaos in the region,” presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh said in a statement. “No one can force the Palestinians out of their homeland,” he said, calling on the US administration “to support solutions that lead to lasting peace and stability for the region and the world.” On Saturday, U.S. President Donald Trump called to “just clean out” Gaza and resettle Palestinians to Jordan and Egypt, describing the enclave as a “demolition site” after Israel’s genocidal war. Jordan and Egypt issued statements vehemently rejecting any call for the displacement or relocation of Palestinians from their land.
- Two Palestinians were killed and three others injured in an Israeli drone strike in the West Bank city of Tulkarem on Monday, the Health Ministry said. A ministry statement said the casualties occurred in the attack that targeted the Nur Shams refugee camp in eastern Tulkarem. Witnesses said the drone hit a vehicle in the camp, leaving it in flames. Israeli forces also raided the city of Tulkarem and its refugee camp in the northern West Bank amid clashes with Palestinian residents, according to witnesses. The Palestinian resistance group Hamas confirmed that the two dead men were members of its armed wing, the Qassam Brigades. The new attack came as the Israeli army continued a military operation in the West Bank city of Jenin, killing at least 16 Palestinians and injuring 50 others since last week.
More to follow…
