Palestinians celebrate returning to northern Gaza after over a year as Israel-Hamas cease-fire holds

It was a long trip, but a happy one. The most important thing is that we returned."

The mum-of-three said

It's the joy of return,

said Abu Matter, whose relatives were among the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who fled or were driven into Gaza out of what is now Israel during the 1948 war surrounding its creation, known by Palestinians as the Nakba, Arabic for "catastrophe".

We had thought we wouldn't return, like our ancestors,

he said

This day feels like a holiday,

Shadi Adas said, describing hundreds of people chanting "God is greatest" and slogans associated with Eid al-Adha celebrations

The scale and extent of destruction caused by the occupation army in Gaza and North Gaza governorates have exceeded 90 percent,

the office said

I have everything packed and ready to go with the first light of day, ... At least we are going back home, now I can say war is over and I hope it will stay calm.”

she said, adding

We waited here for three days in the cold and hunger to return,

she said

I haven’t seen my family for a year and a half, I want to go back to see them. I’ve been waiting for three days to go to my parents,

Mohammed Adas, 19, told Reuters

I am very happy we will meet our families,

she added

The transfer of militants or weapons via these routes to the northern Gaza Strip will be considered a breach of the agreement. Do not cooperate with any terrorist entity that may try to exploit you to transfer weapons or prohibited materials,

Israel’s military warned in a statement, according to Reuters

We will not allow a return to the reality of 7October,

he wrote on the social media platform X

My heart is beating, I thought I would never come back,

Osama, 50 a public servant and father of five told Reuters as he arrived in Gaza City, the largest city in the noth

It's like I was born again and we were victorious again,

said Palestinian mother, Umm Mohammed Ali, part of the miles-long throng that moved slowly along the coastal road

If this were to happen, it would amount to an alarming escalation in the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people and exponentially increase their suffering,

he told The Independent

My brother is a prisoner, my brother’s children were martyred, my husband was martyred, many relatives were killed, there is no one in Gaza who did not lose someone from their family, our homes are gone, if we return to our home, there is nothing to return to,

she sadi

Ethnic cleansing is anything but an ‘out-of-the-box’ thinking, no matter how one packages it. It is illegal, immoral, and irresponsible.”

In a post on X, Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, said

We have had enough suffering and humiliation. Our lives will remain in a state of war until the Day of Judgment, just let us live a few years in security and peace,

she said

If this proposal happens, to temporarily evacuate the Gaza Strip, the people of Gaza will not be returned to the Strip again,

he said

We love this land as trees love water. We have no intention of leaving,

he said

I am excited to return to the north, to return to my destroyed home because there is no other option. If we don't return to the north, it is likely that our chances of remaining in the south will amount to displacement,

Abdel Fattah Al-Wosari said on Sunday