After 15 months of war, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are returning to northern Gaza as part of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
Early on Monday, displaced Palestinians – huddled together and holding their belongings in sacks and plastic bags – began heading northwards on foot through the Israeli-established Netzarim Corridor, which bisects the strip.
The Israeli military earlier on Monday said it would allow Palestinians to cross via the coastal al-Rashid Street by foot starting at 7am (05:00 GMT) and the central Salah al-Din Street by vehicle from 9am (07:00 GMT).
“I will start rebuilding my home brick by brick, wall by wall,” a forcibly displaced Palestinian told Al Jazeera.
“We will start by removing the debris and rebuild it all over again.”
Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud, reporting from al-Rashid Street, said there was a “sense of excitement and happiness picking up” after Israel announced the timings for people to return home in the north.
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“We saw a change in the mood of everyone. We have never seen people that happy in the past 15 months,” he said.
“People describe this moment as historic. They say it’s as important as the announcement of a ceasefire. For them, this is a victorious day.”
Many of the people returning north were defiant.
“I cannot describe my feeling. It is a festive day for us, as if we have been resurrected and now are entering paradise,” a young displaced man told Al Jazeera.
“I have one message: We the Palestinians are the rightful owners of this land. We will not budge. Our resolve cannot be dented. We sacrificed 50,000 lives and 110,000 wounded over the past 15 months alone. We sacrificed our homes, schools, hospitals and entire infrastructure, but we will not budge.”
“So, while this is a small, promising sign – that they are going to allow within this agreement people to return – they are allowing them to return to an area that is utterly devastated. There is no indication that they are going to allow them to rebuild their homes in that area,” he said.
Israel’s war in Gaza has killed at least 47,306 Palestinians and wounded 111,483 since October 7, 2023.
At least 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the Hamas-led attacks that day, and more than 200 were taken captive.
Palestinian authorities said the actual death toll during the 15 months of relentless Israeli air and ground assaults is likely to be much higher as they continue to recover bodies from the rubble.
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The Israeli attacks displaced about 90 percent of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents with many forced to relocate
