Ceasefire in Gaza takes effect as displaced people return to the northern Gaza Strip

Thousands of Palestinians who were forcibly displaced to the central and southern Gaza Strip began returning to the northern part of the Strip after the Israeli occupation army announced that a ceasefire would go into effect at noon on Friday.

The occupation army stated that movement from the southern Gaza Strip to its northern part is now open via the Rashid Coastal Road and Salah al-Din Road.

A Qatar News Agency (QNA) correspondent reported that thousands of Palestinians, who had gathered since the early hours of dawn near Wadi Gaza and Nuwairi Hill in the central Gaza Strip, set out toward the northern part of the Strip on foot and by primitive means of transportation and vehicles, following the Israeli announcement of the start of the ceasefire implementation.

Since the early morning hours, Israeli occupation forces’ boats have been firing machine guns and shells at Rashid Street, northwest of the Nuseirat refugee camp, preventing residents gathered in the area from returning to Gaza City.

Local sources in the Gaza Strip reported that the Israeli occupation army began a gradual withdrawal from several areas in the Strip at dawn today, as a first step toward implementing the ceasefire agreement with Hamas, in accordance with U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan to end the war.

The same sources noted that Israeli military vehicles and equipment retreated toward the withdrawal lines specified in the agreed-upon map under the plan. Israeli forces also withdrew from areas where they had advanced deep into Gaza City, including the Tel al-Hawa, al-Sabra, and al-Zeitoun neighborhoods in the south, as well as the al-Shati, Sheikh Radwan, and al-Nasr neighborhoods in the north and northwest of the city.

Civil Defense sources told Qatar News Agency (QNA) that field teams have begun recovering the bodies of martyrs from under the rubble and debris and are attempting to reach others who died in shelling that targeted homes and streets, but rescue teams had previously been unable to reach them.

Sources indicated that the number of martyrs is large and that recovery operations are proceeding at an extremely slow pace due to the difficulty of movement and the severe shortage of rescue capabilities and equipment, much of which was destroyed by the targeting of Civil Defense headquarters and vehicles during the Israeli aggression on Gaza.

A Palestinian Civil Defense source warned citizens against approaching areas where occupation forces were recently present, particularly those along the border, until official confirmation of the withdrawal is received from the relevant authorities.

The Israeli occupation government ratified the ceasefire agreement reached in the Egyptian city of Sharm el-Sheikh last night, paving the way for a cessation of hostilities within 24 hours, followed by the release of detainees within 72 hours. This forms part of the first phase of U.S. President Donald Trump’s initiative to end the war.

It is worth noting that Israel has been waging a devastating war on the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023, resulting in the deaths of more than 67,000 Palestinians and the injury of approximately 170,000 others, most of them children and women. The war also triggered a famine that claimed the lives of 460 people, including 154 children, amid the near-total destruction of the Strip’s infrastructure and civilian life.