(CLO) On Sunday, tens of thousands of Palestinians in northern Gaza and residents in southern Lebanon expressed disappointment after Israel refused to open checkpoints to let them return home under a ceasefire agreement.
A day after the second hostage exchange between Israel and Hamas was completed, tens of thousands of Palestinians waited along the main roads leading north to Gaza, some in vehicles and some on foot.
“A sea of people is waiting for the signal to move back to Gaza City and the north,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City evacuee. “This is the deal that has been signed, right?”
"Many of them don't know if their homes back home are still standing. But they still want to go, they want to pitch tents next to the ruins of their homes, they want to feel at home," the resident added.
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Video of a sea of people pouring into northern Gaza, but being trapped because the Israeli army refuses to open checkpoints. (Source: X/HB)
On Sunday, witnesses said many people spent the night on Salahuddin Road, the main north-south route, and on the coastal road leading north to Gaza, waiting to pass through Israeli military positions in the Netzarim corridor that runs through the heart of the devastated strip.
Al-Awda Hospital officials said one Palestinian was killed and 15 others were wounded by Israeli fire, from soldiers stopping people from getting too close along the coastal road. The Israeli military said it fired warning shots at suspects who posed a threat to its troops.
Under the deal struck with Egyptian and Qatari mediators and backed by the United States, Israel is obliged to allow Palestinians displaced from the north to return to their homes.
Palestinians stranded on the coastal road leading to northern Gaza. Screenshot
But Israel said Hamas' failure to hand over a detailed list of hostages expected to be released alive, as well as another female hostage, Arbel Yehud, meant it was in breach of the deal.
As a result, checkpoints in central Gaza will not be opened to allow people to travel north to the Palestinian enclave, Hamas said in a statement. Hamas blamed Israel for the delay and accused it of delaying the ceasefire.
Meanwhile also on Sunday in Lebanon, Israeli forces killed 22 people in the south of the country as a withdrawal deadline passed and thousands tried to return home, Lebanese authorities said.
Israel said on Friday it would keep troops in southern Lebanon beyond Sunday's deadline set in a U.S.-brokered ceasefire to end last year's war with Hezbollah, saying Lebanon had not yet fully implemented the terms of the truce.
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Video of Israeli army opening fire to prevent people from returning home in southern Lebanon (source: X/HAH)
The Lebanese army has also accused Israel of delaying the withdrawal. The Hezbollah-Israel conflict, which has run parallel to the war in Gaza, has displaced more than a million people in Lebanon and severely weakened the group.
Lebanon's health ministry said 22 people were killed and 124 others wounded in several locations in the south of the country in what it described as Israeli attacks on civilians trying to return to towns still under Israeli occupation.
Israel said its troops “operating in southern Lebanon fired warning shots to eliminate threats in several areas where suspects were identified approaching the troops”. It also said “several suspects… posing a threat” had been arrested.
Hezbollah's al-Manar television, broadcasting from multiple locations in southern Lebanon, showed footage of people moving toward villages early Sunday morning, some holding the group's flag, and images of Hezbollah fighters killed in the fighting.
Bui Huy (according to AJ, Reuters, Wafa)
Source: https://www.congluan.vn/israel-ngan-chan-nguoi-dan-tro-ve-nha-o-gaza-va-lebanon-nhieu-nguoi-thiet-mang-post332130.html
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