Displaced Gazans await return amid ceasefire dispute

Crowds form at the Barrier

Aerial footage showed the crowd stretching for hundreds of meters from a junction on a coastal road in the Nuseirat area. The area was filled with water tankers, ambulances, donkey carts, TV crews, and dozens of tents where displaced Gazans waited for permission to continue their journey. The crowd extended for three kilometers along Al-Rashid Road, with Gaza police preventing civilians from getting too close to the barrier as Israeli jets and drones flew overhead.

Displaced families and their belongings

Families sat along the road with their belongings piled in blankets and backpacks. Some sought shelter in bombed-out villas, others slept in cars to stay warm. Saeed Abu Sharia, who lost fifty relatives in the ongoing conflict, expressed the hardship of the situation, burning a tent as a symbol of misery.

Waiting to cross the Netzarim Corridor

A few kilometres inland, hundreds of families were stuck in traffic jams with everything they owned piled onto their vehicles. Tens of thousands of displaced people waited near the Netzarim Corridor, which separates the northern and southern Gaza Strip. This area, militarized by Israel, has become a focal point in the dispute between Hamas and Israel over the terms of their ceasefire agreement.

Ceasefire dispute and hostage issues

Israel and Hamas accused each other of violating the ceasefire agreement. As part of the deal, Israel was supposed to allow displaced Gazans to return to the north, but this has been delayed over the non-release of civilian hostages. Israel is refusing to allow the return until the release of Arbel Yehud, a civilian held captive by Hamas. However, Hamas claims Israel’s blocking of Gazans’ return violates the ceasefire. Both sides remain at an impasse, affecting thousands of displaced families.