'We're reborn!' Gazans express joy at returning home to north

GAZA and LONDON -- Emotional scenes continued to play out in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday as families and friends reunited for the first time in over 15 months, after the Israeli military allowed Gazans who had been trapped in the south of the strip to return to their homes in the north.

A sea of people swept along the shoreline on Monday, trudging on foot through the sandy remains of the coastal highway, passing along the way a Palestinian flag fluttering in the wind above them.

Hundreds of thousands were on the march, making their way home, according to Gazan authorities. The young, elderly and wounded were among them, carrying whatever they could.

"It feels like we're reborn!" Om Wael, a grandmother from Gaza City, told ABC News as she carried her granddaughter in her arms with a look of joyful determination on her face.

"Even if our home is flattened, we're so happy to return to our city, to our homes, unharmed. Thank God," she said.

In the early stages of the war after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attack, the Israeli military divided Gaza in two, funneling those from the north to the south through a series of evacuation orders. They set up an impassable buffer zone, called the Netzarim Corridor, and prevented anyone from the south from crossing into the north. As part of this month's ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, Gazans would now be allowed to travel to the north, and Monday's opening of that buffer zone gave more than 1 million people the opportunity to return home for the first time in months.

About 300,000 made the journey on Monday with an estimated 1 million expected to travel over the coming days, according to the Gaza Government Office.

"I held my young son Samir and my daughter Farah and walked along the coast," Jawaher Muharab, 44, from Gaza City, told ABC News. "They were in pain from walking because of the long distance. There are no taxis. The city is destroyed, but I felt safe when I arrived in the city, my house was largely destroyed and unfit for living, but I will put my tent next to it."

As the mass migration continued Tuesday, Gazan authorities said they need at least 135,000 tents to house the displaced that are returning to the north -- a part of Gaza that suffered enormous destruction due to Israeli bombardment and has seen some of the most fierce fighting between Hamas and the Israel Defense Forces. The IDF has said it's only targeting Hamas and other militants in Gaza and alleges that Hamas deliberately shelters behind civilians, which the group denies.

While pedestrians made the long walk along the coast, many of those traveling into northern Gaza by car were stuck in traffic on the inland road allocated to them. As part of the ceasefire agreement, this route has checkpoints manned by American security contractors who inspect each vehicle. The line of cars on Tuesday stretched for over 5 km, or about 3 miles, with people reporting potential waits of up to 30 hours to reach the checkpoints and complete inspection.

But along the coastal road, there were joyful scenes as Gazans reunited while they walked. Videos posted online showed some of those moving moments. Among the most poignant was that of twin brothers hugging, close to knocking each other over. They had been separated for more than a year.

One girl is seen on social media asking her father, "Papa, why are you crying?" as he hugs her and her sister. The man is Muhammad Shahin, a freelance journalist who had stayed in northern Gaza to cover the war and had not seen his family in well over a year.

"When the army announced yesterday evening that Monday morning would be the day for the displaced to return, I did not sleep for a moment," Mirvat Ajur, 29, from the Daraj neighborhood in central Gaza City, told ABC News.

This anticipation for north Gazans to return home had been mounting ever since a ceasefire came into place on Jan. 14, temporarily ending 15 months of fighting that's ravaged the Gaza Strip, the intense Israeli bombardment reducing much of it to rubble. Under phase one of the agreement, 33 hostages are expected to be released, with seven Israeli hostages having already been released by Hamas. The hostages released so far are Romi Gonen, Emily Damari, Doron Steinbrecher, Daniella Gilboa, Liri Albag, Naama Levy and Karina Ariev. Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners being held by Israel are also expected to be released in exchange for the hostages.

This has been the deadliest conflict ever between Hamas and Israel. It began when Hamas terrorists stormed Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing more than 1,200 Israelis and kidnapping some 250. The Israeli response has led to the death of more than 47,000 Palestinians, most of whom were women and children, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, and the almost total destruction of Gazan infrastructure. The United Nations estimates that nine out of 10 homes in Gaza have been destroyed and 90% of its population of 2.3 million people have been displaced.

"I know that my home is damaged and burned, but I want to return to it. I want to live in those burned and destroyed rooms. I am like a fish dying far from the sea," 55-year-old Samira Halas, from Gaza City's Shuja'iyya neighborhood, told ABC News.

"We walked for about five hours until we reached central Gaza. It was a difficult journey, but the people were very happy, singing, clapping and dancing in joy at returning to their homes," Ajur, from the Daraj neighborhood, said after she had arrived home.

"I did not feel tired at all, because I knew that I would return to my home and sleep in my room," she added.

Many Gazans have been living in difficult crowded conditions in tents with little access to basic necessities, crammed into a small area in the south of the strip. Many have said they feared they would never be allowed to return home. This return was made possible when the ceasefire that was agreed to on Jan. 14 held, and Hamas returned some of the Israeli captives in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. The ceasefire is still in its first phase, but some who spoke to ABC News said they hope it could lead to a permanent end to the war.

"I entered and I inhaled the air of Gaza City," Halas told ABC News by phone from her home.

"The closer I got to the area, the safer I felt," she said. "Today, I felt that the war is over," but her joy at being able to return home was tinged with sadness.

"I cannot describe the destruction we saw," she said, "everything was destroyed." As she approached her neighborhood, she said "it was like an earthquake had hit it."

In the past few months, the Israeli military intensified its activity in northern Gaza, ordering evacuations for large parts of it as it battled Hamas fighters. While thousands followed the orders and left, hundreds of thousands stayed, enduring harsh conditions with little access to food, water or international aid.

"We found the people of the north waiting for us and cheering for our return. I hugged them as if they were my children and family. I felt that I had returned from abroad. Gaza has a great place in our hearts. No one knows our love for it," Halas explained.

"Life here is difficult," she said. "There is no water or electricity, but we will revive the area again."

Videos on social media showed that attempts at reconstruction were already underway, with some residents of the north painting their walls bright colors to welcome family and friends home.

"I cannot describe to you how much I missed Gaza City," Ajur told ABC News. "The soil of Gaza is priceless and we do not want anyone to force us to leave it again."

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