Tens of thousands of Palestinians streamed toward Gaza City on Monday, as Israel opened checkpoints and allowed people back into the northern reaches of the territory that had been closed off since the early days of the Israel-Hamas war, more than 15 months ago.
The Palestinians, mostly on foot, lugged what personal belongings they could manage as they headed back to see whether their one-time homes were still standing. But much of the region has been leveled during the Israeli bombardment targeting Hamas militants and buildings booby-trapped by Hamas.
Gaza City is one of many areas where the Israeli military ordered residents to evacuate as it carried out its offensive. The Palestinians often headed to southern Gaza, only to be told later to evacuate again as Israel attacked there as well. Many of the evacuees were displaced multiple times and turned to tent camps for shelter.
About a million people were ordered out of northern Gaza as the Israeli offensive began in October 2023. The military, until now, had prevented their return.
The Palestinians’ return to Gaza City comes in the early stages of a six-week ceasefire between Israel and Hamas that has resulted in the release of seven hostages held in Gaza, the freeing of 300 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel and a surge of humanitarian aid into Gaza.
U.S. President Donald Trump over the weekend said he wants Jordan and Egypt to take in more displaced Palestinians as part of an effort to “clean out” Gaza. But the two countries rejected the suggestion, saying the only way forward was creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel.
The U.S. has long supported Palestinian statehood, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has balked at the idea.
A last-minute dispute about the late release of an Israeli hostage delayed Monday's access to Gaza City, but Qatar announced early Monday an agreement under which Hamas will free Arbel Yehoud and two other hostages before Friday.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office confirmed the agreement, saying an additional three hostages also will be released Saturday and that Hamas had provided a list with the status of all the hostages who are due to be released during this first phase of the ceasefire.
There was violence Sunday in central Gaza as Israeli forces fired at Palestinians along a coastal road near a checkpoint, killing at least one person and injuring 18 others, according to a spokesperson for al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat.
The Israeli military said in a statement that it “identified several gatherings of dozens of suspects that posed a threat.”
The war in Gaza started with the shock Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people and led to the capture of 250 hostages. Israel’s counteroffensive in Gaza has killed at least 47,300 people, most of them women and children, according to health officials. The Israeli military says the death toll includes 17,000 militants.
Hamas is believed to be holding about 60 hostages and the remains of about 30 others, with the ceasefire requiring them to release 33 during a six-week truce in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians jailed by Israel. Seven Israeli hostages and nearly 300 Palestinian prisoners have been freed thus far.
Violence Sunday also put pressure on a separate ceasefire between Israel and the Lebanon-based Hezbollah militant group.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry said Monday that Israeli forces injured two people in the southern town of Bani Hayyan.
That followed Israeli attacks Sunday that killed at least 22 people and injured 124 others, according to the ministry. The Sunday attacks came as Israel confirmed it would not meet a 60-day deadline to withdraw its troops as part of the ceasefire it reached with Hezbollah in November.
On Sunday, the White House released a statement that the ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel, monitored by the United States, would continue to be in effect until Feb. 18.
“The Government of Lebanon, the Government of Israel, and the Government of the United States will also begin negotiations for the return of Lebanese prisoners captured after October 7, 2023,” the statement said.
Israel blamed the militants and the Lebanese army for failing to meet their own commitments under the truce. The Israeli military said that it fired “warning shots” toward “suspects” and that it had detained an unspecified number of people.
Under terms of the ceasefire, Hezbollah was required to retreat to the north away from the Israeli border and Israel was to pull out of Lebanon.
In a statement, the United Nations peacekeeping forces in Lebanon, known as UNIFIL, warned that it was “imperative to avoid further deterioration of the situation.”
It urged the Israeli military to avoid firing at civilians, and for Lebanese people to adhere to the directives of the Lebanese military. “Further violence risks undermining the fragile security situation,” the statement said.
Some information for this story came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
