Full of grief after two years of war but glad to be going home, thousands of displaced Palestinians set off across the Gaza Strip on Friday, as a truce between Israel and Hamas took hold.
Timidly at first, then in a huge column, thousands walked northwards in a line at least a kilometre long from the safer areas of central Gaza towards Gaza City, the scene of a gruelling Israeli offensive before Friday’s ceasefire.
People chanted “God is great”, cheering and whistling in their joy as they walked on a recently opened Mediterranean seafront road, AFP journalists saw.
Ibrahim al-Helou, a 40-year-old man from Gaza City displaced in the central refugee camp of Al-Maghazi, told AFP he was excited, but remained cautious.
He said that when he began heading home, “the situation was dangerous, with gunfire, so I waited for a while”.
“Now, the road has been opened and we have all continued on our way back to Gaza to check on our homes and assess the situation”.
Ahmad Azzam, a 35-year-old who was also displaced to central Gaza from Gaza City, said he moved as soon as he heard of the troops pulling back.
“When I heard news of the Israeli withdrawal and that the road would be opened in the coming hours, my family and I immediately headed to Al-Rashid Street to return to Gaza,” he told AFP.
He added that, like Helou, he found the situation dangerous at first, and initially chose to wait on a hill overlooking the coastal road.
“Only a few people are risking moving forward,” he said, speaking at noon, the time the troops’ pullback officially began.
Israel’s military said Friday that troops “began positioning themselves along the updated deployment lines in preparation for the ceasefire agreement and the return of hostages”.
It said in a separate statement in Arabic that Gaza’s main north-south axis, Salah Al-Din road, had also been reopened, but warned Gazans against approaching army troops still stationed inside the Palestinian territory.
Israel government spokeswoman Shosh Bedrosian told journalists on Thursday that Israel’s military would redeploy to the so-called Yellow Line, as they gradually withdraw under a plan proposed by US President Donald Trump.
During this first part of the withdrawal process, the military will still hold about 53 percent of the Gaza Strip.
In the southern city of Khan Yunis, dozens walked back to their homes on paths cleared through piles of rubble accumulated from over two years of war and air strikes, an AFP journalist reported.
Destroyed and damaged buildings, their facades torn off by blasts or crumbling upon their foundations, stood on all sides as the returnees walked in the morning sun, shortly after news spread that Israeli forces had withdrawn from parts of Khan Yunis.
“We’re happy. Even if we return to ruins with no life, at least it’s our land,” Ameer Abu Iyadeh, a returnee, told AFP.
“We’re going back to our areas, full of wounds and sorrow, but we thank God for this situation,” he said smiling, a pink school backpack strapped to his chest, holding a jerrycan full of water in one hand and his young daughter in the other.
“God willing, everyone will return to their areas,” the 32-year-old said, while his two other daughters walked by his side, holding hands.
Areej Abu Saadeh, a Palestinian woman who lost a daughter and a son during the war, said she could not wait to get home.
“We’ve been displaced for two years now, living on the sidewalks with no shelter and nowhere to stay,” she told AFP.
“We’re now on our way to Bani Suheila, running — I just want to reach my place,” she said, referring to her town east of Khan Yunis.
Israel had previously said all parties had signed the first phase of a ceasefire agreement at talks this week in Egypt, adding that Hamas freeing its remaining Israeli captives alive and dead would “bring the end to this war”.
