{"id":14198,"date":"2025-01-29T07:14:40","date_gmt":"2025-01-29T07:14:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/?p=14198"},"modified":"2025-01-29T07:14:41","modified_gmt":"2025-01-29T07:14:41","slug":"palestinians-return-to-north-gaza-after-over-a-year-hamas-hails-victory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/?p=14198","title":{"rendered":"Palestinians return to north Gaza after over a year; Hamas hails \u2018victory\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Thousands of Palestinians head on foot to what is left of their homes after 15 months of war and forced displacement by Israel.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a><\/a><\/a>After\u00a015 months of war<\/a>, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are returning to northern Gaza as part of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Early on Monday, displaced Palestinians \u2013 huddled together and holding their belongings in sacks and plastic bags \u2013\u00a0began heading northwards<\/a>\u00a0on foot through the Israeli-established Netzarim Corridor, which bisects the strip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Israeli military earlier on Monday said it would allow Palestinians to cross via the coastal al-Rashid Street by foot starting at 7am (05:00 GMT) and the central Salah al-Din Street by vehicle from 9am (07:00 GMT).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI will start rebuilding my home brick by brick, wall by wall,\u201d a forcibly displaced Palestinian told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe will start by removing the debris and rebuild it all over again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Palestinians
Forcibly displaced Palestinians return to where they lived in northern Gaza before the war began [Jehad Alshrafi\/AP Photo]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Al Jazeera\u2019s Hani Mahmoud, reporting from al-Rashid Street, said there was a \u201csense of excitement and happiness picking up\u201d after Israel announced the timings for people to return home in the north.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe saw a change in the mood of everyone. We have never seen people that happy in the past 15 months,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPeople describe this moment as historic. They say it\u2019s as important as the announcement of a ceasefire. For them, this is a victorious day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many of the people returning north were defiant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI cannot describe my feeling. It is a festive day for us, as if we have been resurrected and now are entering paradise,\u201d a young displaced man told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have one message: We the Palestinians are the rightful owners of this land. We will not budge. Our resolve cannot be dented. We sacrificed 50,000 lives and 110,000 wounded over the past 15 months alone. We sacrificed our homes, schools, hospitals and entire infrastructure, but we will not budge.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"INTERACTIVE<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Hamas called the return \u201ca victory\u201d for Palestinians while its ally Palestinian Islamic Jihad said it was a \u201cresponse to all those who dream of displacing our people\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a statement, Hamas said Palestinians returning to areas from which they were forcibly displaced \u201cprove the failure of the occupation to achieve the aggressive goals of displacing people and breaking their steadfast will\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the early days of the war, Israel had forcibly evacuated about 1.1 million people from northern Gaza to prepare for a ground invasion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Israel delayed opening the Netzarim Corridor, originally scheduled over the weekend, over Hamas\u2019s failure to release female Israeli captive Arbel Yehud in the latest captive-prisoner exchange<\/a> on Saturday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hamas accused Israel of violating the ceasefire despite the group informing mediators that Yehud was alive and giving guarantees for her release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Sunday, Israeli forces had blocked Palestinian civilians from approaching the Netzarim Corridor, firing on crowds<\/a> on several occasions and killing at least two Palestinians, according to medical sources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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