Tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians began returning home to northern Gaza on Monday, bracing for what awaits them in a region that has been reduced to rubble by months of brutal bombardment and fighting, CNN reports.
Israel opened a corridor into the north of the Gaza Strip on Monday, 48 hours later than initially planned. It blamed the delay on Hamas, saying the militant group breached the terms of the ceasefire agreement that guaranteed people would be able to return to the north.
Israel expected Hamas to free Arbel Yehud, a female civilian hostage, in the second round of hostage releases on Saturday. When it didn’t, Israel delayed the opening of the Netzarim corridor that bisects the strip, refusing to let people into northern Gaza. Hamas then agreed to release more hostages, including Yehud, on Thursday and Saturday, the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said Sunday.
Israel said Yehud should have been released on Saturday as Hamas is obliged to release civilians first. The four hostages released over the weekend were all female members of the Israeli military.
Seen from above, the crowds on Monday resembled a huge, slow moving wave making its way up Gaza’s coast, then turning inland. Most, including children, injured people and the elderly, were traveling on foot, carrying the little they have left on their backs. Most have spent many months exiled in makeshift refugee camps after Israeli forces ordered large-scale evacuations. They had been praying for this moment for months.
One woman told CNN her son was going to see his home – Gaza City – for the first time.
“He was born in Khan Younis. It’s an indescribable feeling that I am going back to Gaza City. It used to take us 10 minutes to get there, but this time it took a year and a half,” she said, adding that she would “kiss the walls and the ground” upon her return.
“May this be the end of the war, and may the ceasefire last… I gave birth in Khan Younis, and my husband is missing,” she said.
Many people have been waiting for weeks for this moment, spending the past few days sitting out in the streets or on the beach with their mattresses, belongings and water tanks, waiting for the checkpoint to open.