[Here is the content:
Tens of thousands of displaced Gaza residents ended months of exile in temporary camps and began returning to what was left of their homes on Monday after Israel opened a corridor into the north of the battered enclave.
Video obtained by CNN showed a huge convoy of people heading toward northern Gaza on foot at first light on Monday morning, carrying baggage and children. For days, they had sat out in the streets or on a beach with their mattresses, belongings, and water tanks, waiting for the checkpoint to open under the terms of the ceasefire and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas.
“We miss our home. We have been living in tents for 470 days,” said Fadi Al Sinwar, from Gaza City on Sunday.
Nadia Qassem from Al Shati Refugee Camp, told CNN, “We have been waiting for this day for so long” even though many will only find rubble where their houses once stood.
Their return was pushed back by 48 hours after Israel accused Hamas of breaching the terms of the ceasefire agreement over the release of hostage Arbel Yehud, delaying the opening of the Netzarim corridor that bisects the territory.
Hamas and Israel agreed to release more hostages, including Yehud, on Thursday and Saturday, the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said on Sunday. Under the agreement, Israel would allow Gazans to return to the north from Monday morning, according to the office.
The incident escalated tensions and threatened to derail the already fragile truce. Those tensions heightened further on Saturday after President Donald Trump said he had discussed his plan to “clean out” Gaza with the king of Jordan and intended to raise the matter with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.
The US president said he would like both Jordan and Egypt to house hundreds of thousands of Palestinians either temporarily or “long term,” telling reporters onboard Air Force One, “because I’m looking at the whole Gaza Strip right now and it’s a mess, it’s a real mess.”
“It’s literally a demolition site right now,” Trump said of Gaza, much of which lies in ruins from relentless Israeli strikes during its 15-month war with Hamas. “I’d rather get involved with some of the Arab nations and build housing in a different location where I think they could maybe live in peace for a change.”
Both Jordan and Egypt rejected Trump’s idea to shift Palestinians out of the enclave, saying such a move would displace Palestinians from their homeland. Trump’s comments were also strongly condemned by Palestinian leaders and human rights groups, who denounced the forced relocation of residents as ethnic cleansing and a possible war crime.
“We miss our home. We have been living in tents for 470 days,” said Fadi Al Sinwar, from Gaza City on Sunday.
For links to the original article, please refer to the provided text.
Source link
