Israel blocks Palestinians returning home to northern Gaza
A day after a second exchange of Israeli hostages held in Gaza for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails, the hold-up underlined the risks hanging over the truce between the militant group and Israel, long-time adversaries in a series of Gaza wars.
In central areas of Gaza, columns of people were waiting along the main roads leading north, some in vehicles and some on foot, witnesses said.
'A sea of people is waiting for a signal to move back to Gaza City and the north, people are fed up and they want to go home,' asked Tamer Al-Burai, a displaced person from Gaza City. 'This is the deal that was signed, isn't it?'
'Many of those people have no idea whether their houses back home are still standing. But they want to go regardless, they want to put up the tents next to the rubble of their houses, they want to feel home,' he told reporters via a chat app.
On Sunday, witnesses said many people had slept overnight on the Salahuddin Road, the main thoroughfare running north to south and on the coastal road leading north, waiting to go past the Israeli military positions in the Netzarim corridor running across the centre of the Gaza Strip.
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