HUGE crowds of Gaza residents, old and young, walked northwards with their belongings along the main road next to the Mediterranean Sea coast from dawn yesterday morning, in a stunning reversal of the mass exodus from the north at the start of Israel’s war on the Palestinian territory.
Basem Naim, a senior Hamas official, said: ‘Today is the most important day in the current history of this conflict.
‘Israel was for the first time obliged to allow Palestinians to return to their houses after being forced by the resistance, in a similar way that it was forced to release Palestinian prisoners.
‘This is, I think, a very symbolic day. This is a very important day in how to approach this conflict with the Israelis in a language which they understand.’
Hamas described the return of its people to northern Gaza as ‘a victory for our people, and a declaration of failure and defeat for the (Israeli) occupation and transfer plans.
‘The scenes of crowds of our people returning to the areas they were displaced from, where their homes are destroyed, assert the greatness of our people and their steadfastness on their land despite the severity of the pain and tragedy.
‘The return of our displaced people to their homes has vindicated further that the occupation failed to achieve its aggressive goals of displacing our people and breaking their steadfastness,’ Hamas added
Hamas called for intensifying the delivery of humanitarian aid to all areas of the Gaza Strip, especially the north.
The Israeli occupation army said that Palestinians would be allowed to cross al-Rashid street by foot starting at 7am and Salahuddin street by vehicle from 9am.
Dr Mohammed Taher, a British volunteer surgeon, walking along al-Rashid Street among tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians going back to northern Gaza, said: ‘I want to congratulate the Palestinian people, the people of Gaza, on this auspicious day.
‘The day of return after 15 months of forcible displacement, hardship, and suffering of all kinds, and they have finally been allowed to try to find some semblance of life and rebuild the future.
‘There are thousands of people who are in need of complex surgery; there needs to be a plan to address those needs. There needs to be a plan to rebuild homes, rebuild universities, schools, and infrastructure that’s been wiped out.
‘I tell you, what’s not going to be acceptable to these people is forceful evacuation. So, the solution lies in rebuilding, not deportation.’
Yasmin Abu Amshah, a mother of three, walked 6km to reach her home in Gaza City, where she found it damaged but still habitable.
She saw her younger sister for the first time in a year. ‘It was a long trip but a happy one. The most important thing is that we returned,’ she said.
Ahmad Adas, a young displaced Palestinian with several bags slung over his shoulders, said: ‘We want to go see our family. I want to see my mother and father. We haven’t seen them for 15 months. It’s a long time.’
Mohammed Adas, aged 19, trudging with a beaming smile, said: ‘I haven’t seen my family for a year and a half. I’ve been waiting for three days to go to my parents. We are tired. I want to go to Gaza City, we’re not coming back here.’
Ismail Abu Matter, a father of four who waited for three days before crossing into northern Gaza with his family, described scenes of jubilation on the other side with people singing and crying as they reunited with relatives.
‘It’s the joy of return,’ said Abu Matter, whose family was among the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who fled or were driven out of what is now Israel during the 1948 war surrounding its creation. ‘We had thought we wouldn’t return, like our ancestors,’ he said.
