Full of grief after two years of war but relieved to be going home, thousands of displaced Palestinians began trekking across the Gaza Strip on Friday as a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took effect.
Timidly at first, then in a swelling crowd, thousands moved north in a line stretching nearly a kilometre from safer areas in central Gaza toward Gaza City — the site of a devastating Israeli offensive before Friday’s truce.
Chanting “God is great,” many cheered and whistled as they marched along a newly opened Mediterranean coastal road, AFP journalists observed.
Ibrahim al-Helou, a 40-year-old from Gaza City displaced in Al-Maghazi refugee camp, told AFP he was both eager and cautious.
He said that when he first set out for 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, 35, also displaced from Gaza City to central Gaza, said he moved as soon as he learned that Israeli troops were withdrawing.
“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 said.
He added that the area was initially unsafe, so he waited on a nearby hill before joining others moving north.
“Only a few people are risking moving forward,” he said at noon, the official start time of the troop pullback.
The Israeli military announced Friday that its forces “began positioning themselves along the updated deployment lines in preparation for the ceasefire agreement and the return of hostages.”
In a separate Arabic statement, the army said Gaza’s main north-south artery, Salah Al-Din Road, had also been reopened, but warned residents not to approach troops still deployed inside the enclave.
Israeli government spokeswoman Shosh Bedrosian told reporters Thursday that troops would redeploy to the so-called Yellow Line as they gradually withdraw under a plan proposed by US President Donald Trump.
During this first phase of the withdrawal, the military will still occupy about 53 percent of Gaza.
– ‘Running’ –
In the southern city of Khan Yunis, dozens of residents walked back through pathways cleared among heaps of rubble left by more than two years of bombardment, an AFP journalist reported.
Damaged buildings, their facades ripped apart or reduced to fragments, lined the roads as returnees made their way home under the morning sun, shortly after news spread that Israeli forces had pulled out of parts of the city.
“We’re happy. Even if we return to ruins with no life, at least it’s our land,” said Ameer Abu Iyadeh, a returnee.
“We’re going back to our areas, full of wounds and sorrow, but we thank God for this situation,” he said, smiling, a pink backpack strapped to his chest and a jerrycan of water in one hand as he held his daughter in the other.
“God willing, everyone will return to their areas,” added the 32-year-old, flanked by his two other daughters walking hand in hand.
Areej Abu Saadeh, a woman who lost a daughter and a son in the war, said she could not wait to reach 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 confirmed that all parties had signed the first phase of a ceasefire agreement in Egypt, stating that Hamas releasing its remaining Israeli hostages, both alive and dead, would “bring the end to this war.”
