Hamas speaks of “victory” for the Palestinian people and describes the return of displaced people as “a historic moment”
Thousands of Palestinians have begun their return to the north of the Gaza Strip on Monday, in a new step in the implementation of the ceasefire agreed between Israel and the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), which came into force on January 19, after more than 15 months of Israeli offensive against the enclave in response to the attacks carried out on October 7, 2023.
The authorization for the return of these people, subject to various conditions, has been confirmed early in the day by the spokesman in Arabic for the Israeli Army, Avichai Adrai, who has detailed that the population “will be able to return on foot to the north of Gaza through the Netzarim corridor and Al Rashid street” from 7:00 a.m. (local time).”
“Vehicles will be able to circulate to the north of the “The Gaza Strip will be closed after inspection via Saladin Street starting at 9:00 a.m. (local time),” he said on his account on the social network X, before warning that “the transfer of militants or weapons on these routes to the north will be considered a violation of the agreement.”
Thus, Adrai has called on the Gazan population “not to cooperate with any terrorist organization that may try to exploit it to transfer weapons or prohibited materials,” while reiterating that “it is prohibited to approach the forces of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in all places of their deployment and concentration.”
“In the south of the Gaza Strip, it is prohibited to approach the Rafah crossing area, the Philadelphia corridor area and all areas of concentration of forces,” said Adrai, who also warned against carrying out fishing work or “entering the sea” during the next few days, as well as against “approaching the buffer zone and entering Israeli territory.”
In this regard, Israel’s Defense Minister, Israel Katz, has promised that the authorities will “strictly” enforce the ceasefire. “Whoever breaks the rules or threatens IDF forces will pay the full price. We will not allow a return to the reality of October 7,” he said through his account on X.
For its part, the press office of the Gazan authorities, controlled by Hamas, has published on its Telegram account the terms of the agreement for the return of the hundreds of thousands of displaced people in northern Gaza, coinciding with the details provided by Adrai, and has added that “more than 5,500 officials are working to facilitate the return of the displaced from the southern and central governorates.”
The Gazan Ministry of Health has noted that it has deployed ambulances in the area to “provide urgent medical care to citizens returning to their homes.” “We urge everyone to follow the instructions of the medical teams and to go to emergency points when necessary,” he explained in a statement published on his Facebook account.
HAMAS SPEAKS OF “VICTORY” OF THE PALESTINIAN PEOPLE
After the reopening of the routes for the return of the displaced, Hamas has published a statement in which it has emphasized that “the return of the displaced is a victory of the (Palestinian) people and a declaration of the failure and defeat of the occupation and its displacement plans.”
“The scenes of the return of the masses of our people to areas from which they were forced to flee, despite the fact that their homes are destroyed, confirm the greatness of our people and their firmness in their land, despite the enormous pain and the size of the tragedy,” he said.
“These images, filled with the joy of return, the love of the land and the relationship with it, are a message to all those who opted to break the will of our people and displace them from their land,” the Islamist group reiterated, according to the Palestinian newspaper ‘Filastin’.
Thus, it has stressed that the return of the displaced “demonstrates once again the failure of the occupation to achieve its aggressive objectives of displacing the people and breaking their will” and has called for “intensifying” the delivery of humanitarian aid in the face of what it describes as “a historic moment.”
Hamas spokesman Abdulatif al Qanu has asserted that the return of the displaced “represents another failure of the occupation to achieve its objectives in the war of extermination and destruction,” as well as being “a message of defiance to any new attempt to displace them.”
Al Qanu has thus referred to the recent statements of the President of the United States, Donald Trump, who said on Saturday that he will propose to Egypt and Jordan the possibility of receiving one and a half million displaced people from the Gaza Strip for their “accommodation” in the medium or long term, at least while the reconstruction of the enclave lasts, a scenario that both countries have already rejected.
“The firmness of our people in their land and their return from the south to the north of Gaza represents the end of the Zionist dream of displacing them and liquidating their just cause,” he argued, before stating that “this historical epic written in Gaza through sacrifices demands that the world do justice to the Palestinian people so that they have their legitimate rights and the occupation ends.”
Along these lines, Islamic Jihad has highlighted the “legendary” scenes that are being witnessed with the return of the displaced to the north of Gaza, “turned into rubble by the Zionist criminals.” “This return is a response to all those who dreamed of displacing our people,” he said.
“Islamic Jihad takes this opportunity to affirm that the firmness of our people will eliminate all Zionist dreams of stealing the joy from our hearts and break the shackles of the jailer and the occupier,” the Palestinian group concluded.
CRITICISM FROM BEN GVIR
In fact, Israel’s Minister of National Security, the far-right Itamar Ben Gvir, has criticized the return of the Palestinians to their homes in northern Gaza and has said that it is “another humiliating part” of the “reckless” ceasefire agreement, which he has rejected from the beginning.
“This is not what a ‘total victory’ looks like. This looks like a total surrender. The heroic IDF soldiers did not fight and gave their lives in the Gaza Strip to make these images possible. We must return to war and destroy,” he added on X, as part of his message against any negotiation.
The return of displaced people to northern Gaza has begun after Hamas agreed to release three hostages on Thursday, after last-minute disagreements on this point, which was already included in the ceasefire agreement.
Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Mayed al Ansari explained through his profile on the social network X that, “within the framework of efforts led by mediators,” the parties have “reached an understanding” by which Hamas will hand over Arbel Yehud and two other hostages, while releasing three others on Saturday, “in accordance with the agreement.”
Following this, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that Hamas will carry out an “additional round of hostage releases this Thursday,” which includes “civilian Arbel Yehud, soldier Agam Berger and another hostage.” “In addition, three more hostages will be released next Saturday according to the agreement,” he added.
Netanyahu had previously announced the suspension of the protocol for the return of the Palestinian civilian population to the north of the Gaza Strip after accusing Hamas of partially violating the ceasefire agreement, by denouncing that Yehud, which would be in the hands of the armed wing of Islamic Jihad, the al Quds Brigades, had not been released within the stipulated period.
