Palestinians finally returning to devastated northern Gaza after ceasefire dispute delay

CNN — Tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians began returning home to northern Gaza on Monday, bracing for what awaits them in a region that has been reduced to rubble by months of brutal bombardment and fighting. “Anyone who violates the rules or threatens will bear the full cost.” Hamas in a statement praised the return of the displaced as “a victory for our people, and a declaration of the failure and defeat of the occupation and its displacement plans.” Israel’s far-right former national security minister, Itamar Ben Gvir, who quit in protest over the ceasefire and hostage release deal, claimed the return of Palestinians to northern Gaza was a “total surrender.” Fragile truce threatened by tensions Escalated tensions over Yehud’s release had threatened to derail the already fragile truce. The US president said he would like both Jordan and Egypt – which borders Gaza – to house hundreds of thousands of Palestinians either temporarily or “long term,” telling reporters onboard Air Force One, “because I’m looking at the whole Gaza Strip right now and it’s a mess, it’s a real mess.” “It’s literally a demolition site right now,” Trump said of Gaza. Dana Stroul, former assistant deputy secretary of defense for the Middle East, told CNN that Trump’s proposal “feeds this narrative” that what Israel and the US really want “is not a Palestinian state living next to Israel, but actually to force them somewhere else.” Palestinians wait to be allowed to return to their homes in northern Gaza amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in the central Gaza Strip, on January 26, 2025. Hamas in a statement said it will “categorically reject any plans to deport and displace them from their land,” and called on the US administration to “stop these proposals.” Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad also condemned Trump’s “reprehensible statements” and called the proposal “a continuation of the policy of denying the existence of the Palestinian people, their will and their rights.” Human rights groups have also denounced the idea.