In a somewhat historic occurrence, the return of 1.5 million Palestinians who have been forcibly displaced since the very beginning of the war is being witnessed.

Tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians in Gaza are crossing the so-called Netzarim Corridor and returning home to their loved ones in the north of the Strip for the first time since Israel’s war on the enclave began.

Israel’s military announced that Palestinians will be allowed to cross al-Rashid Street by foot starting at 7am (05:00 GMT) and Salah al-Din Street by vehicle from 9am (07:00 GMT).

This comes after mediators helped resolve a dispute over the release of a civilian captive, Arbel Yehud.

Qatar, which has been mediating between Israel and Hamas, along with Egypt and the US, announced late on Sunday that Hamas will hand over Israeli captive Arbel Yehud and two other captives before Friday and that Israel will in return allow displaced Palestinians to return to northern Gaza on Monday morning.

Israel had said that it won’t allow Palestinians to return to northern Gaza until the issue of Yehud’s release is resolved.

As Palestinians made their return, Hamas issued a statement describing the return of displaced people as “a victory” for the Palestinians and a defeat for the Israelis.

It said that the scenes of the return of Palestinians to the areas from which they were displaced confirm their link to their land and once again “prove the failure of the occupation to achieve the aggressive goals of displacing people and breaking their steadfast will.”

Itamar Ben-Gvir, the Israeli former National Security Minister, who is known for his incendiary remarks against Palestinians, decried the return of the displaced to northern Gaza as a victory for Hamas.

“The opening of the Netzarim highway this morning and the entry of tens of thousands of Gazans into the northern Gaza Strip are images of Hamas’s victory and another humiliating part of the reckless deal. This is not what ‘complete victory’ looks like – this is what complete surrender looks like.

“The heroic [Israeli] soldiers did not fight and give their lives in the Gaza Strip to make these photos possible. We must return to war – and destroy!”
Itamar Ben-Gvir

Ben-Gvir, who resigned his post earlier this month in protest of the ceasefire deal, has long been opposed to ending the war and has called for Israel to occupy Gaza.

Analyst Issues Word Of Caution

Omar Baddar, a Middle East analyst and former Deputy Director of the Arab-American Institute, cautioned celebrating Israel’s decision to let displaced Palestinians return to North Gaza.

He asserted that there is no question that Israel has ambitions to take over north Gaza, saying, “That is part of the reason why they have utterly destroyed it and expelled people from the area.”

“So, while this is a small promising sign – that they are going to allow within this agreement to allow people to return – they are allowing them to return to an area that is utterly devastated. There is no indication that they are going to allow them to rebuild their homes in that area.”
Omar Baddar

Baddar noted that, time and again, Israel had violated its commitments during ceasefires.

“They have killed several Palestinians already, they’ve violated the ceasefire in Lebanon hundreds of times. So the situation remains incredibly precarious.

“And even though this is a small positive development, in a confined context, looking at the fact that they do have these broader ambitions in north Gaza and the fact that they see an opportunity with the Trump administration to act on that ambition, the situation remains precarious and it is quite premature to be celebrating any progress at this point.”
Omar Baddar