Israeli troops have withdrawn from the Netzarim Corridor – a military zone bisecting the Gaza Strip – in line with the Israel-Hamas ceasefire agreement of January 19.
Hundreds of Palestinians in cars and on carts laden with mattresses and other goods began returning to northern Gaza following the pull-out – often to scenes of utter destruction.
About 700,000 residents of northern Gaza fled to southern areas at the start of the war, when the Israeli military issued mass evacuation orders before launching a ground invasion of the Palestinian territory.
Many of those displaced were subsequently forced to move multiple times after Israeli forces pushed into southern Gaza, too.
They were also prevented from returning to their homes through the Netzarim Corridor, stretching from the Gaza-Israel border to the Mediterranean Sea.
Israeli forces partially withdrew from the west of the corridor last month and the first Palestinians – pedestrians – were allowed to walk along the coastal Rashid Street as they crossed into northern Gaza.
Those on vehicles have to use Salah al-Din Street and undergo screening for weapons by U.S. and Egyptian security contractors, the BBC said.
