Thousands of displaced Palestinians tried to return to their homes in northern Gaza on Sunday, with Israeli forces firing into crowds on Sunday, forcing people to turn back in panic, according to an emergency worker and two people trying to return.
The Palestinian Authority’s official news agency, Wafa, reported that Israeli fire killed five people and injured 23 others as a group of Gazans headed north on Rashid Street, south of Gaza City, as they headed north.
The deaths could not be independently confirmed, and the Israeli military did not immediately respond to questions about whether its forces had fired on Palestinian civilians trying to cross northern Gaza.
For months, the Israeli military has barred Palestinians displaced by the war in Gaza from returning to their homes in northern Gaza.This has become a sticking point negotiation between Israel and Hamas.
It was unclear why some Palestinians believed Israel would not prevent their return on Sunday. But the day they set out, Iran launched hundreds of drones and missiles at Israel.
According to the Gaza Health Ministry, more than 33,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched an attack on Gaza in October. According to Israeli authorities, the attack was in response to Hamas-led attacks in southern Israel that killed about 1,200 people.
On Sunday morning, Jamila Ibrahim, 39, said she started hearing about some Palestinians leaving early and trying to return to the north. She later spoke with friends who were able to return north. But the quantity is small.
She and her three children, aged 10 to 17, set off on the journey around 10:30 a.m. with others.
She said the Israeli military occupied much of Gaza after launching a ground invasion, but there had been no official notification allowing residents to return to their homes. She said it was just based on word of mouth and people seeing others leaving and being encouraged to join the hike home.
“Some people are scared, they don’t know what’s going to happen to them, they don’t know what’s going to happen,” she said. “Some people are happy they’re coming back.”
She said most people walked – carrying what little food they had or a few items packed in bags and luggage – while some paid large sums to ride in cars, trucks or donkey carts. But they all take the same seaside road, heading north to the Israeli checkpoint that separates southern Gaza from the north.
“There was a lot of tension between people,” she said. “They were afraid they were going to be shot.”
She said that based on conversations she has had with friends who have successfully crossed, those who have tried to cross north in the middle of the night (around 4 a.m.) have made it to the north.
But later that morning, when she and other displaced Palestinians tried to follow, Israeli troops opened fire on them, she said.
“Around 12:30, the Israelis started shooting,” she said.
Mazen Al-Harazeen, a first responder in Gaza, said Israeli forces fired weapons and he did not know how many people were killed, but said, “There were gunshots and martyrs.”
Early Sunday morning, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Avichay Adraee wrote Rumors that the army would allow residents to return to their homes in the northern Gaza Strip were false, according to people on social media.
“The IDF will not allow residents to return,” he added. “For your safety, please do not approach the forces operating there.”
The war between Hamas and Israel is now in its sixth month and nearly 2 million Gazans have been displaced. One of their biggest concerns is when and if they will be allowed to return to their homes, or whether they will be permanently displaced like previous generations.
During the war over the creation of the state of Israel in 1947 and 1948, approximately 700,000 Palestinians were expelled or fled their homes.
Pilar Speyer Contributed reporting.
