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IDF tells Palestinians they can return to northern Gaza next week if Hamas upholds ceasefire

By Emanuel Fabian 21 January 2025, 9:57 am 5 Edit

Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent

The military tells displaced Palestinians that they will be able to return to northern Gaza from the Strip’s south after being displaced at the beginning of the war, if Hamas upholds the ceasefire deal.

“If Hamas adheres to all details of the agreement, starting next week, residents of the Gaza Strip will be able to return to the northern Gaza Strip and instructions will be issued in this regard,” Col. Avichay Adraee, the IDF’s Arabic-language spokesman, says on X.

Under the agreement, on the seventh day of the ceasefire, unarmed Gazans will be allowed to return on foot to north Gaza without any inspection, via the coastal road. Vehicles returning to north Gaza will be required to undergo an inspection by a private company to be determined by the mediators and Israel.

On day 22, displaced unarmed Palestinians will be allowed to return to north Gaza on foot via Salah a-Din road, also without inspection.

This means the IDF will be gradually withdrawing from the Netzarim Corridor.

Adraee also warns Gazans against approaching areas where troops are still deployed in Gaza, including the buffer zone along the entire border, the Netzarim Corridor in the Strip’s center, the Philadelphi Corridor on the Egypt-Gaza border, and the sea.

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