Displaced Palestinians return to northern Gaza
Tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians have begun their journey back to the heavily bombarded northern area of the Gaza Strip — for the first time since the early weeks of the 15-month war between Israel and Hamas.
Joy for Gaza Palestinians
As news that the first crossing would be opened filtered out on Monday morning, thousands of families burst into cheers. Many had been camping at the crossings through the weekend, awaiting their return home.
Israel delays return
The return to Gaza had been delayed by two days, with Israel accusing Hamas of changing the order it was releasing hostages in return for Palestinian detainees. While mediators resolved the dispute overnight, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned that Israel will not tolerate any violation of the terms of the peace deal.
Majority of population displaced
According to the United Nations, around 90% of Gaza's 2.1 million inhabitants have been displaced, many of them multiple times. Most of the displaced had been sheltering south of Wadi Gaza, the stream and wetlands that divide the north from the rest of the enclave.
Gaza devastated
Northern Gaza has mostly been laid to waste over the past 15 months by Israel's aerial and ground offensive. Achim Steiner, chief administrator for the United Nations Development Program, told DW that Palestinians will have to rebuild 60 years of development.
Gaza filled with debris
According to UN estimates, there are about 42 million tons of rubble strewn across the Gaza Strip after over two-thirds of the infrastructure was destroyed or damaged in Israeli airstrikes and ground incursions.
Reconstruction could take decades
The UN has said the process of rebuilding society there is likely to take decades, with costs running as high as $80 billion (€76 billion).