Vehicles go through X-ray device at crossing before being allowed into northern Gaza
Thousands of displaced Palestinians began to return to northern Gaza by vehicles on Monday through the Netzarim Corridor, which separates the territory's southern part from the north, witnesses said.
“Vehicles carrying displaced people and their belongings began to pass through the Netzarim Corridor via Salah al-Din Street, after undergoing a security inspection,” an eyewitness told Anadolu.
It came hours after tens of thousands began to return on foot via the coastal Al-Rashid Street to northern Gaza under a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.
Vehicles were scheduled to pass through the Netzarim Corridor at 9 am local time (0700GMT) but their passage was delayed due to the late arrival of a technical team responsible for inspections, according to an Anadolu reporter.
Vehicles go through an X-ray device at the crossing before being allowed into northern Gaza under the ceasefire agreement.
According to the Israeli outlet Walla on Thursday, two American firms and an Egyptian company are managing this mechanism to facilitate the return of displaced Palestinians to northern Gaza while maintaining security.
The return of Palestinians came hours after Qatar mediated an agreement between Hamas and Israel under which the Palestinian group agreed to release female Israeli captive Arbel Yehud and two others by Friday.
The first six-week phase of the ceasefire agreement took effect on Jan. 19, suspending Israel's genocidal war that has killed more than 47,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, and injured more than 111,000 since Oct. 7, 2023.
Seven Israeli captives, including four soldiers, have so far been released in return for 290 Palestinian prisoners since the deal came into force.
The Israeli onslaught has left more than 11,000 people missing, with widespread destruction and a humanitarian crisis that has claimed the lives of many elderly people and children in one of the worst global humanitarian disasters ever.
The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in November last year for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.
