Palestinians have begun returning to the northern Gaza Strip amid a truce between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement, a Palestinian Interior Ministry official said.
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“Displaced Palestinians began moving along Al-Rashid Road through the western part of the Netzarim crossing towards Gaza City and the north of the enclave,” he said.
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Last night, Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majid al-Ansari said that the Israeli authorities would allow Palestinians to begin moving from the south to the north of the Gaza Strip in the morning in exchange for an agreement on the release of three Israeli hostages by January 31.
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Israel and Hamas, through the mediation of Qatar, Egypt and the United States, agreed on a ceasefire from January 19 for 42 days and announced their desire to finally end the hostilities, which since October 7, 2023, have claimed the lives of 46 thousand Palestinians and about one and a half thousand Israelis, then spread to Lebanon and Yemen, provoked an exchange of missile strikes between Israel and Iran.
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As part of the agreements, Hamas released a second group of hostages last week – three female soldiers. In exchange, the Israeli authorities released 200 Palestinian prisoners from prison, including those sentenced to life for terrorism.
