1 of 2 | Displaced Palestinians attend a special morning prayer to start the Eid al-Fitr festival, marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan, at a school-turned-shelter in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, on Wednesday, April 10, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza. Photo by Ismael Mohamad/UPI | License Photo
April 14 (UPI) -- Thousands of Palestinians, including men, women, children, and elderly people, reportedly came under fire Sunday while returning to their homes in northern Gaza, many of them displaced since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7th, 2023, prompting the latest chapter of the decades-long war.
"I am going home. I have been displaced for six months. We live in a tent because our house was struck," a young boy named Omar Al-Dahdouh said, while traversing the coastal road of Al Rasheed, carrying a bag of flour on his shoulder, and holding his younger sibling's hand, sobbing as he walked.
"I am not afraid. If I must die, I will die, but I don't want to live this anymore. I want to go home, I'm tired. My siblings need to live," he continued.
CNN video show families walking with their belongings, some riding bicycles, donkey carts and pick-up trucks, smiling and snapping photographs.
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"I'm going to Gaza City. It's enough. We need to go back to our homes and lands. We are tired of displacement... we heard people saying we can go back, but no one official told us. We'll leave it to God," Majd El-Aqqad said.
This is the first time war regfugees have began headingback to Gaza in sich large numbers. Some of the travelers said tney heard the Israeli military was allowing women and children to return, and others said their relatives were allowed to cross over.
The Istaeli Defense Force said the reports were false.
"The northern Gaza Strip continues to be an active war zone and return to the area is not currently permitted," IDF said.
In the video shot for CNN, an elderly woman named Um Mohammad walks along Al Rasheed carrying a heavy bag on her head and two others in her arms, trying to return home.
She cried and praed for God to protect them.
"I don't know anything about my house. It's our home and our land. The Israelis displaced us and humiliated us," she said.
"We are tired here. We have been displaced for 191 days," Malak Abu Nada, a woman from Jabalya, told CNN.
Many of the people who attempted to head north had been gone to Rafah, where Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been threatening to launch an offensive that the UN said would lead to a "humanitarian catastrophe."
The Gaza Ministry of Health reported on Sunday that the toll in the Gaza Strip since October 7 has risen to 33,729 dead and 76,371 people injured.
Ahmad Ramadan told CNN he had tried to travel north on Al Rasheed but was turned back by Israeli soldiers because he is a man.
"We heard the road was open to Gaza City, so we thought we'd go," Um Awni Al-Jarousha told CNN. "When they saw men with us, they started shooting at us. We are tired and humiliated."
CNN video shows people turning around, heading south with the sound of drones and planes overhead. Missiles are seen in the distance while people run in panic.
"We reached all the way to the checkpoint until we saw Israeli tanks. We headed back because they fired towards us. We didn't see anyone make it to the other side. We risked our children's lives to cross, but apparently it was all a lie," one woman said.
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- Benjamin Netanyahu
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FAQs
Proponents of the right of return hold that it is a human right, whose applicability both generally and specifically to the Palestinians is protected under international law. This view holds that those who opt not to return, or for whom return is not feasible, should receive compensation.
Do refugees have a right of return? ›
According to Masri, refugee status is independent of right of return. Thus, refugees who acquire new nationalities in their host countries do not necessarily lose their right to return to the countries they left.
Can people from Gaza go to West Bank? ›
Israel, however, has changed this position and now considers the West Bank and the Gaza Strip as "two separate and different areas". Residents of Gaza are only allowed to travel to the West Bank in exceptional humanitarian cases, particularly urgent medical cases, but not including marriage.
Was Palestine a country before Israel? ›
While the State of Israel was established on 15 May 1948 and admitted to the United Nations, a Palestinian State was not established. The remaining territories of pre-1948 Palestine, the West Bank - including East Jerusalem- and Gaza Strip, were administered from 1948 till 1967 by Jordan and Egypt, respectively.
Are Palestinians allowed to return to Gaza? ›
Every person has the right to return to their country, a right enshrined in numerous human rights conventions, and affirmed for Palestinian refugees in UN General Assembly resolutions dating back to 1948. But Israeli authorities have consistently denied this right and blocked Palestinian refugees from returning.
Which country has the most Palestinian refugees? ›
With nearly 2.4 million registered Palestinian refugees – close to half of the total of all Palestinian refugees – Jordan is home to the largest number, followed by Syria (about 584,000) and Lebanon (about 491,000), according to the agency's 2023 estimates.
What is it called when refugees return home? ›
Repatriation. Voluntary return of a refugee to his/her country of origin when conditions permit. This is the favorite of the three “durable solutions” available to a refugee. Resettlement.
What rights are refugees denied? ›
About migration and human rights
Human rights violations against migrants can include a denial of civil and political rights such as arbitrary detention, torture, or a lack of due process, as well as economic, social and cultural rights such as the rights to health, housing or education.
How often do refugees return home? ›
On average it will be over thirteen years (depends how you calculate the numbers) before they can go home. Only a small number of refugees, less than one percent, are ever going to be resettled.
Why don't people move out of Gaza? ›
Many are also voicing uncertainty about safety anywhere in the strip if they leave their homes. Gaza is surrounded by blockades imposed by Israel and Egypt, which restrict movement. Israel prevents access to and from Gaza by sea and air.
U.S. citizens should heed the Travel Advisory for Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza. The U.S. Embassy continues to closely monitor the dynamic security situation in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza. There are active military operations and active rocket and mortar fire in Gaza and the Gaza periphery.
Can Jews enter Gaza? ›
Since 2005, Israelis and Jewish settlers are not allowed to travel in and out of Gaza freely. Foreigners are not subject to those restrictions but must obtain permits from Israeli authorities.
What was Palestine called in the Bible? ›
The name was familiar to their ancient neighbours, occurring in Egyptian as Purusati, in Assyrian as Palastu, and in the Hebrew Bible as Peleshet (Exodus 14:14; Isaiah 14:29, 31; Joel 3:4). In the English authorized version, Peleshet is rendered Palestina or, in Joel only, Palestine.
What is Israel called in the Bible? ›
The Land of Israel (Hebrew: אֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל, Modern: ʾEreṣ Yīsraʾel, Tiberian: ʾEreṣ Yīsrāʾēl) is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine.
Why did Britain give Palestine to Israel? ›
In 1917, in order to win Jewish support for Britain's First World War effort, the British Balfour Declaration promised the establishment of a Jewish national home in Ottoman-controlled Palestine.
What happens to Palestinian refugees? ›
Most Palestinian refugees have retained their refugee status and continue to reside in refugee camps, including within the State of Palestine in the West Bank and in the Gaza Strip. Their descendants form a sizable portion of the Palestinian diaspora.
What is the status of Palestinian refugees? ›
Nearly one-third of the registered Palestine refugees, more than 1.5 million individuals, live in 58 recognized Palestine refugee camps in Jordan, Lebanon, the Syrian Arab Republic, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
What is happening to Palestinian refugees? ›
Some 1.7 million Palestinians, nearly 75% of the population, are estimated to be internally displaced—with many having been displaced multiple times. They are forced to shelter in schools, hospitals and U.N. facilities without basic supplies or sanitation.
What are the rights of Palestinian refugees in Syria? ›
85 % of Palestinian refugees in Syria are those that fled to the country in or before 1956 and their descendants [Targeting 2020 , 11, p. 87]. They have the same rights as Syrian citizens in terms of residence, freedom of movement, work, trade and access to civil service positions and public services.
