Masses of displaced Palestinians streamed into the north of war-ravaged Gaza on Monday after Israel and Hamas reached a deal for the release of another six hostages.
Also on Monday, the Israeli government said eight of the hostages held in Gaza who were due for release in the truce’s first phase are dead.
The fragile ceasefire and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas is intended to bring an end to more than 15 months of war that began with Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
Israel had prevented Palestinians from returning to northern Gaza, accusing Hamas of violating the terms of the truce, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said late Sunday they would be allowed to pass after a new agreement was reached.
Hamas had said blocking the returns amounted to a truce violation.
A sea of humanity moved through the now-open Netzarim Corridor into the north, watched over by Israeli tanks. Some pulled carts weighed down with mattresses and other essentials. Others carried what belongings they could.
Late Monday the Hamas government in Gaza said “more than 300,000 displaced” had returned during the day “to the governorates of the north”, an area of Gaza severely battered by the war.