Gaza residents stream home to the north after hostage breakthrough

Tens of thousands of Palestinians surged along the primary routes heading north in Gaza on Monday, excited to return home after months in temporary housing yet apprehensive about the condition of their residences amid the destroyed remains.

Their return, postponed over the weekend, proceeded after Hamas consented to release three Israeli hostages this week and Israeli troops started to retreat from a primary corridor through the enclave as part of a ceasefire agreement in the ongoing 15-month war. In Israel, families of the hostages eagerly awaited updates on their loved ones.

On a road alongside Gaza’s Mediterranean coast, a large crowd, with some cradling babies in their arms or lugging bundles on their backs, walked northward on foot.

“It feels as if I was reborn and we triumphed once more,” remarked a Palestinian mother, Umm Mohammed Ali, among the lengthy crowd that gradually made its way along the coastal route. Observers indicated that the initial people reached Gaza City in the early hours after the central Gaza crossing point opened at 7:00 a.m. (0500 GMT).

Another crossing opened about three hours later, allowing vehicles to enter. Children wearing warm jackets and holding backpacks walked together, hand in hand. Men assisted the elderly in wheelchairs while families took photos as Hamas-employed officials in red vests guided them down the road.

Even with the ceasefire agreement in place, Palestinian hospital officials reported that an Israeli missile struck and killed a bulldozer driver on the coastal road west of the Nuseirat camp in central Gaza Strip. No immediate response was provided by Israel . Approximately 650,000 Palestinians were forced to evacuate from northern Gaza due to the conflict initiated by Hamas’ attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, resulting in 1,200 fatalities and 251 hostages, as reported by Israeli figures. According to the Gaza health ministry, over 47,000 Palestinians have died as a result of the Israeli attack on Gaza.

Later on Monday, the Hamas authorities in Gaza reported that over 300,000 individuals had entered Gaza City and the northern part of the territory. Numerous displaced individuals have been forced to relocate multiple times as Israel has marked certain areas of Gaza as humanitarian zones, only to subsequently evacuate them prior to launching airstrikes and ground actions.

A large portion of Gaza now exists in devastation. The media office of the Hamas-led Gaza government stated that those returning to the north require a minimum of 135,000 tents and shelters as they attempt to rebuild their lives amid the debris of their previous residences. According to the ceasefire agreement, residents of northern Gaza were set to come back over the weekend. However, Israel claimed that Hamas violated the agreement by not freeing civilian female hostage Arbel Yehud and maintained its troops in the Netzarim corridor, which runs through the enclave south of Gaza City.

Late on Sunday, mediators from Qatar settled the conflict after Hamas consented to free Yehud, along with female soldier Agam Berger and an additional hostage on Thursday, prior to the subsequent planned release of three more hostages on Saturday. Israel subsequently authorized a return to northern Gaza starting Monday morning. The militant branch of the Islamic Jihad organization, a partner of Hamas, released a video on Monday featuring Yehud alive.  Hamas has also supplied a list of all hostages set to be freed in the initial six-week period of the ceasefire deal, specifying their condition.

On Monday, a Hamas representative informed Reuters that the organization provided mediators with a list indicating that 25 out of 33 hostages set for release in the initial phase are alive. The count of 25 comprised the seven hostages let go since the truce commenced on Jan. 19.

Israel has verified the Hamas names on the list – 25 are alive while eight were murdered by Hamas, an Israeli government representative stated. The identities of the deceased and the living were not quickly verified, leaving families in a mix of hope and anxiety. Israeli officials have earlier expressed serious worries regarding the safety of Shiri Bibas and her two sons, who were 4 years old and 10 months old at the time of their abduction from Kibbutz Nir Oz.

Her sister-in-law Ofri Bibas stated that the last several weeks have been tormenting for the family. Shiri’s spouse, Yarden Bibas, is likewise a captive in Gaza, but he was captured apart from his family. “We are here, surrounded by a wave of speculation,” Ofri Bibas stated to Israel’s Public Broadcaster Kan. “We lack certainty and continue to hold onto hope, wishing to see them here, alongside Yarden.”