CAIRO/JERUSALEM, Tens of thousands of Palestinians streamed along the main roads leading north in Gaza on Monday, jubilant to be returning home after months of living in temporary shelter but fearing what might remain of their homes amid the bombed-out ruins.
Their return, which had been delayed at the weekend, went ahead after Hamas agreed to hand over three Israeli hostages later this week and Israeli forces began to withdraw from a main corridor across the enclave under the terms of an agreement on a ceasefire in the 15-month-long war.
In Israel, families of hostages waited anxiously for news of their loved ones.
Along a road running by Gaza’s Mediterranean shore, a mass of people, some holding infants in their arms or carrying bundles of belongings on their shoulders, trekked north on foot.
“It’s like I was born again and we were victorious again,” said a Palestinian mother, Umm Mohammed Ali, part of the miles-long throng that moved slowly up the coastal road.J
Witnesses said the first residents arrived in Gaza City in the early morning after the first crossing point in central Gaza opened at 7:00 a.m. (0500 GMT). Another crossing opened around three hours later, letting in vehicles.
“My heart is beating. I thought I would never come back,” said Osama, 50, a public servant and father of five, as he arrived in Gaza City.
“Whether the ceasefire succeeds or not, we will never leave Gaza City and the north again, even if Israel would sent a tank for each one of us. No more displacement.”
Having been repeatedly displaced over 15 months of war, cheers erupted at shelters and tent encampments when families heard news that the crossings would be opened.
“No sleep, I have everything packed and ready to go with the first light of day,” said Ghada, a mother of five.
“At least we are going back home, now I can say war is over and I hope it will stay calm,” she told Reuters via a chat app.
Children in warm jackets and carrying backpacks walked hand in hand. Men pushed the elderly in wheelchairs and families posed for photos as Hamas-hired officials in red vests directed them along the road.
Signalling the fragility of the ceasefire agreement, Palestinian hospital officials said a bulldozer driver was killed by an Israeli missile along the coastal road west of Nuseirat camp in central Gaza Strip. There was no immediate Israeli comment.
DESTRUCTION