At 7 a.m. on Monday, Israel allowed Palestinians to begin passing into the northern part of the Gaza Strip after the Israel Defense Forces left the Netzarim Corridor dividing the Strip.
In accordance with the terms of the ceasefire deal, Gazans were allowed to pass through the corridor by foot without undergoing security checks.
Vehicles were also allowed to return northward starting at 9 a.m., subject to inspection by an international consortium of security companies.
Hamas hailed the return of Palestinians to northern Gaza as “a victory for our people and a declaration of the failure and defeat of the occupation [i.e. Israel] and its displacement plans.”
Israel’s Channel 12 News aired pictures that purportedly showed armed Hamas gunmen moving alongside the noncombatant population, in an apparent breach of the ceasefire terms.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu briefly held up the return of Gazans to the northern Strip, with his office saying on Saturday that a breach of the ceasefire-for-hostages agreement occurred when Hamas failed to free a female civilian captive, Arbel Yehud.
Under the terms of the deal, Hamas was to have freed female civilians before female soldiers. Instead, the Palestinian terrorist group released four female soldiers on Saturday: Karina Ariev, 20; Daniella Gilboa, 20; Naama Levy, 20; and Liri Albag, 19.
Yehud, who was taken hostage, together with her boyfriend from Kibbutz Nir Oz, on Oct. 7, 2023, is reportedly being held by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist group. PIJ has falsely classified Yehud as an IDF soldier, according to reports.
A compromise was reached on Sunday night. Hamas agreed to free Yehud later this week, along with IDF soldier Agam Berger and an unidentified male captive.