Despite an agreed ceasefire, thousands of people continued to flee to the northern region of the besieged enclave, killing two Palestinians and injuring many others as a result of Israeli attacks on Gaza.
Nadia Mohammed al-Amoudi, age 5, was killed and three others were hurt in al-Jisr, west of the Nuseirat refugee camp, according to the Wafa news agency.
After Israeli forces bombed a bulldozer while it was attempting to remove a stuck car in Nuseirat, a Palestinian man was killed and several people were hurt in a separate report, Wafa reported.
In the wake of a three-stage ceasefire agreement signed between Hamas and Israel that came into force on January 19, these incidents highlight the latest instances of Palestinians who have been displaced and have been attacked as they attempt to return to their homes in the war-torn coastal enclave.
In a statement, the Israeli army claimed an aircraft “fired to repel suspicious vehicles” moving north in a “not approved for passage pursuant to the agreement” in central Gaza. Palestinians who “posed a threat to them” were also shot by Israeli forces in north Gaza, according to the statement.
In Gaza, several violations of the Israeli army have been reported since the ceasefire started on January 19.
Last week, heavy fire from Israeli tanks around the Karem Abu Salem crossing, known as Kerem Shalom to Israelis, east of Gaza’s southern city of Rafah, was also reported.
A fisherman was also hurt by Israeli gunfire close to the coast, and a civilian was hurt inside Gaza by an Israeli drone.
Return to northern Gaza continues
Following a two-day delay, Israeli forces opened the Netzarim Corridor on Monday, prompting Palestinians to make their way back to northern Gaza.
Gaza’s Government Media Office said “more than 300, 000 displaced” have crossed from southern Gaza into the north.
A brand-new banner that hangs above a dirt road in front of a collapsed building in Gaza City read, “Welcome to Gaza.”
“This is the happiest day of my life”, said Lamees al-Iwady, a 22-year-old who returned to Gaza City after being displaced several times.
“I feel reconnected with my soul and life,” he said. We will rebuild our homes, even if it’s with mud and sand”.
Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Salah al-Din Street in Gaza, said people continued to pour into the north for a second straight day, waiting in “very long queues” for hours, despite knowing the devastation that awaits them.
According to Mahmoud, “people who have already crossed the border to the north had already informed their relatives and acquaintances that they are returning to a desert.” “It doesn’t have anything left at all … it doesn’t have any basic necessities to sustain their life there”.
Nevertheless, some Palestinians remained in a defiant mood, with one man returning north saying he was determined to rebuild his home “brick by brick, wall by wall”.
“I am returning home, I know my home has been flattened, I am grieving the loved ones I lost but we are telling the whole world: We are holding steadfast to our home soil, to our homeland”, he told Al Jazeera.
Another Palestinian who is returning to northern Gaza declared, “I have been waiting in this long line this morning.” We are all attempting to obtain bread. I’m hoping there will be more bakeries in the relief organizations. With so many people waiting, it will take hours only to get a loaf of bread”.
Source: Aljazeera
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