In Historic Return March, Thousands of Palestinians Arrive in Northern Gaza

PALESTINE - ISRAEL, 3 Feb 2025

Tareq S. Hajjaj | Mondoweiss - TRANSCEND Media Service

Palestinians displaced by Israel return to northern Gaza, 27 Jan 2025.
(Photo: Naaman Omar/APA Images)

27 Jan 2025 – Late today, 300,000 forcibly displaced Palestinians returned to Gaza City and northern Gaza for the first time since the start of Israel’s genocidal military attacks.

A sea of people streamed through both lanes of al-Rashid Street, the coastal road in the western Gaza Strip designated for the return north as part of the ceasefire arrangement between Israel and Hamas. As thousands upon thousands of people marched on foot in the west, to the east, vehicles were lined up bumper to bumper and allowed to cross after inspection on Salah al-Din Street.

These were the scenes in Gaza on Monday, as hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who had been displaced in the southern Gaza Strip since the beginning of the war began to return home.

Families who spoke to Mondoweiss expressed their joy and feelings of hope upon crossing into northern Gaza, where what remained of their homes was waiting for them. The residents of Gaza City waited for their displaced relatives coming from the south, raising Palestinian flags and victory signs and welcoming the returnees.

“We endured everything throughout the war and stayed strong, but we cried more when we met our loved ones after coming home,” Ahmad Hussam, a returnee to northern Gaza, told Mondoweiss.

Since last Friday night, families have been removing their tents in southern Gaza and heading to the nearest point on the Netzarim axis, waiting to make the journey to return to their homes in north Gaza. Many had been camped out in the cold overnight so that they would be the first to be allowed through. According to the ceasefire agreement, the displaced were supposed to return to their homes in the northern part of Gaza on Sunday morning, but Israel obstructed their return under the pretext that an Israeli captive, Arbel Yehuda, had not been among the four female soldiers released by Hamas on Saturday. Yehuda is not held by Hamas but by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Gaza.

By Sunday, local media outlets reported that a settlement had been reached. The Israeli captive would be handed over early before next Saturday — when the regularly scheduled exchange of prisoners is supposed to take place.

On Monday evening, the Government Media Office in Gaza stated that 300,000 Palestinians arrived in Gaza City and north Gaza from the south.

‘I dreamt of this moment every night’

The joy is palpable among the crowds flooding northern Gaza, returning to their homes after 15 months of displacement.

Fatima Abd Rabbo, 44, carries a bag on her back and walks northward. She knows that her house in the Jabalia area has been destroyed and that she will sleep next to it amid the rubble, yet she cannot contain her elation that she survived 15 months of genocidal war and that her children were returning with her.

“My feelings today are indescribable; it’s like a weight has lifted from our shoulders,” Fatima says. “Even though we don’t know what we will do when we reach our home, we are happy. We can rebuild anything as long as we are in our land and in good health.”

“I dreamt of this moment every night,” she continues as she walks. “Thank God that we lived to see it.”

“This time, I will not leave my home, no matter what happens,” Fatima vows.

Fatima and her family have lived in a tent in Khan Younis for several months. Although she was heading toward her destroyed home, she could not carry all her belongings with her on foot, so she left half her belongings in Khan Younis, including no pillows, blankets, or mattresses to sleep on.

“We carried half of our belongings to ease the difficulty of the journey. We know that we will suffer in the north and that we will sleep on the rubble, but we are happy because we will rebuild,” she says.

From the eastern direction of the Gaza Strip via Salah al-Din Street, cars crowd the entrance to the Netzarim axis.

Akram Safi, 36, sits in his car with his wife and children in the back seat, his young daughter holding a torn piece of paper from a notebook. The page read the words “Returning to Gaza the proud.”

Akram and his family waited in the car for two nights until they could enter the north.

“I will meet my family as soon as I arrive. My brothers and sisters, we have not seen them since the beginning of the war,” Akram tells Mondoweiss. “We thank God that we are returning today. We have had enough suffering inside the displacement camps.”

“There is no pain that compares to the pain of being deprived of your home, and there is no happiness that compares to returning to it,” he adds.

The first phase of the ceasefire agreement with Israel stipulates that the Israeli army must withdraw from residential areas in Gaza. The withdrawal began from the Netzarim axis separating northern and southern Gaza, retreating to the border with Egypt and the buffer zone around the Gaza Strip.

After the first phase, which will last 42 days, two more phases are expected to be implemented, with the aim of ending the war permanently. Negotiations for the second phase are set to begin on the sixteenth day of the current phase.

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Tareq S. Hajjaj is the Mondoweiss Gaza correspondent and a member of the Palestinian Writers Union. He studied English Literature at Al-Azhar University in Gaza and started his career in journalism in 2015 as a news writer and translator for the local newspaper, Donia al-Watan. He has reported for Elbadi, Middle East Eye, and Al Monitor. 

Hasan Suleih gathered testimonies for this report from Gaza.

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