The atmosphere among Palestinians who returned to the northern Gaza Strip

Overview^[1]

• Beginning on January 27, 2025, as part of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, Israel allowed displaced Palestinians to return to the northern Gaza Strip. According to the Hamas government, within 72 hours more than half a million people crossed the Netzarim Corridor towards the north.
• Opening access to northern Gaza led to euphoria among the returnees, who did not hide their happiness and felt a sense of participation in the “victory” narrative promoted by Hamas. They said they hoped to rebuild their lives and many vowed never to leave their homes again. However, encountering the widespread destruction of homes and infrastructure in northern Gaza led to frustration and anger, and thousands of displaced Gazans returned to the south of the Strip.
• Some of the criticism was directed at Hamas, with accusations that the movement was not addressing the urgent needs of the residents and was instead focusing on hostage “liberation ceremonies” and on promoting slogans. However, criticism remains limited due to fears of a violent response from Hamas, which was quick to demonstrate power and governance as the ceasefire went into effect.
• In ITIC assessment, uncertainty regarding the timetable for Gaza’s reconstruction, particularly in the north, will most likely increase frustration and many may return to the displaced persons camps in the south, where basic services exist and there is a steady supply of humanitarian aid. In addition, given President Trump’s proposal to temporarily or permanently relocate the residents of the Strip, the destruction may increase willingness, especially among the younger generation, to consider leaving for abroad in hopes of building their future.^[2] In ITIC assessment, Hamas will suppress critical voices by force. However, given public frustration, the extensive destruction in Gaza will make it difficult for Hamas to sustain its “victory” narrative over time without presenting solutions, and may seek to shift responsibility, for instance to the committee for managing the Strip which Egypt is trying to promote, while striving to maintain its military strength.

Gazans Return to the North of the Strip

• On January 27, 2025, at 7:00 a.m., IDF forces withdrew from parts of the Netzarim Corridor and allowed Palestinian residents from to move the southern Gaza Strip to the north.^[3] The displaced were able to return on foot via al-Rashid Street (the coastal road) and Salah al-Din road, which runs parallel to it, subject to electronic screening by American security companies and under the supervision of a joint Qatari-Egyptian committee (Haya Radio Telegram channel, January 23, 2025; al-Jazeera and Quds News Agency, January 27, 2025). More than 500,000 people reportedly returned to northern Gaza within 72 hours (Hamas government media information office Telegram channel, January 29, 2025).
• According to reports, 545,355 people going north crossed the Netzarim Corridor between January 30 and February 3, 2025. Sixty-two percent of them moved independently; 38% were families. Sixty-six percent went to northern Gaza, 34% went to Gaza City. In addition, 36,620 people going south crossed the Netzarim Corridor between January 27 and February 3, 2025 (ReliefWeb, February 2025).

The Happiness of the Returning Displaced Persons

• The opening of routes toward the north led to euphoria among the displaced, many of whom were forced to leave their homes in the first weeks following the outbreak of the war on October 7, 2023, ignited by the Hamas terrorist attack and massacre, and the launch of the IDF maneuver about three weeks later. They said they hoped it would be possible to remain in northern Gaza and begin rebuilding their lives, stating they would not leave their homes again:
  • A Gazan named Mahmoud Fadl said he felt it was truly a holiday as more than 15 months of suffering, displacement and life in tents had come to an end. Now he was returning home, where he could resume a stable, calm life, hoping this would be his last experience with war and displacement. He added that he saw great joy in the eyes of those moving toward northern Gaza (al-Ayam, January 28, 2025).
  • A Gazan named Eid al-Silawi said that from the moment he entered Gaza City after 11 months of displacement, he felt “peace of mind.” He added that there was life in the area and morale was high. He said people returning to Gaza City felt as though they were being resurrected (Anadolu Agency, January 28, 2025).
  • A Gazan named Ahmed Abd al-Rahman arrived in Gaza City smiling and carrying the Palestinian flag. He was going back to Beit Lahia, from which he had been displaced for about 14 months. He said, “It is impossible to describe how I feel, despite the shaheeds, the destruction and the loss of homes.” Regarding the flag, he said: “I carry the flag of Palestine because it is my homeland, whether I am displaced from it, died, left or returned, it is my homeland, it is deep in my heart, and we will not abandon it” (Anadolu Agency, January 28, 2025).
  • A Gazan named Abu Khalil Banat, who also arrived in Gaza City waving a flag, said, “The first time I smelled Gaza, I knew how paradise smells” (Anadolu Agency, January 28, 2025).

     
Right: The return to northern Gaza represented as the Parting of the Red Sea (X account of Alaa’ al-Laqta, the Hamas in-house cartoonist, February 1, 2025). Left: The return to northern Gaza “on the way to Jerusalem” (Gazan cartoonist Mahmoud Abbas’ Instagram channel, January 27, 2025)

• • A Gazan named Yasser al-Masri said that returning to his home, which he was forced to leave in November 2023, was of great importance to him, and he now felt that the war had ended. He claimed that permission for Gazans to return to the north marked the failure of “the most important Israeli conspiracy” that “the occupation” sought to implement during the war, to empty northern Gaza of its residents and separate it from the south and center. He claimed that with the residents’ return “the occupation” lost its most important card. He said he saw joy in people’s eyes as they crossed the corridor because their dream of returning to northern Gaza had come true (al-Ayam, January 28, 2025).
  • A Gazan named Wasim al-Za’im said he deeply regretted having left northern Gaza at the beginning of the war, claiming he would never do it again, even if it meant his death and the death of his family. It was a bitter experience, he said, and he would remember it until he died. He said those who left were no better off than those who stayed and endured. Samikha Sa’ad, after arriving at her home in the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood of Gaza City, also said her experience had been difficult and she would never go through it again, no matter what happened: “Death here is a million times better than a life of displacement” (al-Ayyam, January 28, 2025).
  • A resident of Beit Hanoun said that his house had been completely destroyed, but added that what mattered most was that the land remained. He said: “With Allah’s help, I will return to my place on the ruins. They destroy and we rebuild” (al-Araby TV, January 29, 2025).
  • Samih, who returned to the Shejaiya neighborhood of Gaza City, recounted that his house had been bombed on October 18, 2023, and November 7, 2023, and that 47 members of his family, including his wife and children, had been killed in the strikes. He said that he had kept his dream of returning to his father and brother, buried under the rubble, and rebuilding his life (al-Araby TV, January 29, 2025).

• As the ceasefire went into effect, humanitarian aid began flowing into northern Gaza in accordance with the agreement. Frozen meat was brought in, after months of severe shortages. For many residents, the return of meat to their tables was an emotional event, reviving memories of flavors they had missed for more than a year. Amani al-Shindagali said the meal was a celebration for her family (Safa, February 2, 2025).

Frustration over the Destruction in the Northern Gaza Strip

• Despite the high spirits of many displaced persons who returned home, the general conditions, the widespread destruction of buildings and infrastructure, quickly gave rise to frustration, anger and despair. Many Gazans who went to the north went back south after realizing they had no home to return to.
  • Journalist Hussam Shaath wrote that “People returned to the ruins without tents, without drinking water… They are trying to create new lives, gathering scraps of fabric and wood, perhaps from what remains of their homes. They walk hundreds of meters searching for water or food, sleep in the open and lie on the ground under the sky. As for those whose homes are still partially standing, they have tried to repair them as much as possible to live in the ruins” (Hussam Shaath’s X account, February 2, 2025).

• • According to the al-Bureij Unites Us Facebook page, “Those who returned say, ‘There is no life here.’ Those who stayed say: ‘We wish we could return.’ Some left their belongings with friends for safekeeping, while others sold their possessions and tents for pennies. Many who returned found neither their homes, a shelter nor even a tent, and were forced to stay temporarily with acquaintances, yet even there, they would feel like a burden, no matter how kind their hosts were. As to the severe water shortage, it is difficult even to fill a single bucket” (al-Bureij Unites Us Facebook page, February 2, 2025).
  • Dr. Samia al-Ghussein wrote, “I was shocked by the look I saw on my nephew’s face. No words can describe his shock at seeing their home and their neighborhood completely erased.” She added, “My sister’s children traveled north yesterday, and today they returned south. The destruction in the north was unbelievable, they don’t know where their home was, they can’t even find a place to drink water… A flood of destruction [a play on words of Operation al-Aqsa Flood]” (Dr. Samia al-Ghussein’s Facebook page, January 28, 2025).
  • A displaced Gazan who returned to Beit Hanoun said he found nothing but destruction and searched for his home for two hours, only to find a crater. He kept saying, “There is no life here” and added that there was neither food nor water, not even aid. He said people were crying over the ruins of their homes, adding that he was returning to al-Mawasi in Khan Yunis because there, at least, there was water, and he could erect a tent for himself and his family (al-Araby TV Facebook page, January 28, 2025).
  • A young Palestinian was photographed holding a small child whom he adopted after the child’s parents could not be found. The young man said he was a resident of Jebalya who had returned to northern Gaza after staying in a school in Rafah. He asked, “What is there for us in the north? Why go back? Our homes were destroyed. We don’t even have tents there” (Sido Army Telegram channel, January 28, 2025*).

• • A reporter who spoke with displaced persons on the coastal road who were returning to the south could not hide her surprise. The displaced said they were returning after having gone back to the north the previous day and seeing the destruction of their homes in the Nasser neighborhood in Gaza City. They said they saw total devastation, adding that they went to see their homes but found only piles of sand. They said there was no water, no food and no life, only ruins. Other displaced persons heading back south added that there was no life and that they felt dead (Palestine TV Facebook page, January 29, 2025).
  • Gazan social media activist Huda Khattab wrote on her TikTok channel [123,000 followers] that she decided to return to the south. She said, “There is no house, no furniture and no source of life for those who have no homes, whether they were destroyed or they migrated. I migrated, and I have no shelter. I returned to Mawasi in Khan Yunis because I have no place to live… People come and people go. They return because they have no source of livelihood in Gaza. Look at us, you ended the war, and you will end our tragedy. Before you end the war, return us to our homes! Return us to places that will house us! I returned to an empty refugee camp, truly empty. I will return to sit under empty plastic sheets. Who will protect us? Who will look and see us? Who will provide us with a livelihood? This is neither life nor victory. We are truly sick of this war” (Huda Khattab’s TikTok channel, February 6, 2025).
  • “Everyone is desperately trying to return to the way things were before October 7! Trying to fix the same house, the same street and the same source of livelihood! We thought this was recovery, but every day I am convinced that recovery is accepting that things will not return to how they were. Who will bring back eight shaheeds, a missing person, a prisoner, a home? Who will bring back our memories and our laughter?” (Maysara Gaza’s X account, February 2, 2025).

Criticism of Hamas

• Despite Hamas’ attempts to portray the return of residents as a “victory” over Israel, criticism of the movement was heard, though it was not widespread because of the persistent fear of Hamas, which is quick to show its power and governance by deploying police forces and armed operatives of its military wing in northern Gaza to execute those suspected of collaborating with Israel. In most cases, those who dared to criticize Hamas were residents who felt they had nothing left to lose or elderly women who believed that Hamas’ revenge squads would not target them. Gazans accused Hamas of not doing enough to improve conditions and instead focusing on “spectacles,” such as ceremonies during the release of hostages:
  • An elderly resident complained, “The aid does not reach us; Hamas takes it.” She also did not hide her lack of fear that Hamas gunmen might attack her, saying, “Let Hamas take me, let them do whatever they want with me” (Sido Army Telegram channel, January 28, 2025).

• • In a TikTok video of the destruction in Gaza, the narrator said, “Every two days you wage a war, every two days you cause destruction, you have destroyed us, you have destroyed yourselves, even Russia doesn’t do this” (Tareq Rajab (Abu Naim)’s TikTok channel, January 30, 2025).
  • Izz al-Din Shahin, a doctor from Gaza, said, “The delivery of water to all areas of the north depends on clearing the rubble from the roads and reopening them, as well as bringing in heavy equipment and tools to restore water lines, at least at a minimal level. No one is talking about the importance of the issue because, of course, the scenes of prisoner releases are considered more important and interesting than discussing our disasters” (izzeddin’s X account, February 1, 2025).
  • A surfer known as “al-Hakim” accused Hamas of promoting slogans at the expense of addressing the needs of the residents. He wrote, “Some of the revolutionaries [Hamas supporters] struggle to grasp the magnitude of the disaster people lived through, as if slogans alone were enough to cope with pain, hunger and the lack of basic necessities. Reality is harsher than speeches and talk about steadfastness and patience. People are no longer looking for ideals, just for the most basic rights to live in dignity” (“al-Hakim’s” X account, February 2, 2025).
• Palestinian and Arab media broadcast live coverage of displaced persons returning to northern Gaza and interviewed residents. However, the Hamas-affiliated media did not air protests and anger directed at the movement. “Well-informed sources” reported that after several Palestinians returning north voiced criticism of Hamas, al-Jazeera instructed its correspondents in Gaza not to conduct unscripted live interviews with civilians lest they have negative opinions. It was also decided to carefully select interviewees and coordinate their statements in advance before conducting interviews (Nasr Palestine Telegram channel, January 28, 2025).

• To expose the situation which the Hamas-affiliated media attempt to conceal, Avichay Adraee, the IDF spokesperson in Arabic, published two videos from Arab media channels documenting displaced persons from northern Gaza speaking out against the movement. In one, a Gazan curses Hamas and the movement’s late leader Yahya al-Sinwar. In another, an al-Jazeera correspondent is heard silencing an interviewee who criticized Hamas. The IDF Arabic spokesperson said, “A spontaneous scene that the propaganda machine cannot hide: Gazans hate Hamas and blame it for their disaster” (IDF spokesperson in Arabic, January 28, 2025).

^[1] Click https://www.terrorism-info.org.il/en to subscribe and receive the ITIC's daily updates as well as its other publications
^[2] For further information, see the February 6, 2025 ITIC report, "The issue of emigration from the Gaza Strip in light of President Trump’s proposal."
^[3] On February 9, 2025, IDF forces left the Netzarim Corridor, in accordance with the agreement for the release of the hostages.

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