After Hamas agreed to free more hostages than anticipated this week in order to maintain its cease-fire with Israel, tens of thousands of Palestinians reportedly started to return to a devastated northern Gaza and what remained of their homes and families.
After Israeli forces stopped displaced Gazans from moving over the weekend, when the return of Palestinians was anticipated under the terms of the cease-fire agreement, Israel let them to start crossing a military zone that divides the enclave on Monday.
According to an Israeli official, Israel had threatened to prevent Gazans from moving north after Hamas failed to free a civilian hostage on Saturday, which was a condition of the agreement.
However, early on Monday, a breakthrough was declared.
Arbel Yehoud, an Israeli captive who was supposed to be freed on Saturday, and two other hostages held in Gaza are set to be released shortly, according to an agreement made between the foreign ministry of Qatar and the office of the Israeli prime minister.
In the first stage, Hamas provided mediators with an update on the condition of the hostages that would be released.
According to a person familiar with the situation, eight of the 33 hostages scheduled to be freed in the first part of the multiphase agreement are dead, while 25 are still alive.
Since the cease-fire took effect on January 19, seven of these hostages have already been freed.
The crossing was thereafter reopened.
Many Palestinians, carrying their possessions, walked north along the main coastal route in the Gaza Strip, some of them celebrating their first return to northern Gaza since the start of the conflict.
While some were nervous as they looked for their own, others were emotional as they were reunited with loved ones.
A 47-year-old mother of six named Suha Arafat fled her home in Gaza City during the initial weeks of the conflict when Israel forced over a million Palestinians to relocate south.
She trekked through a sea of other displaced Palestinians on Monday, carrying her things from central Gaza in her hands and her 9-year-old daughter on her back as they made their way around 7 miles away to Gaza City.
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