Gaza Ceasefire: Palestinians Return To Their Homes
ven before the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas was fully in place Sunday, Palestinians in the war-battered Gaza Strip began to return to the remains of the homes they had evacuated during the 15-month war.
The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting around 250 people. Some 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, at least a third of whom are believed to be dead.
The Israeli military bombardment that followed the attack has flattened large swaths of Gaza and displaced 1.9 million of its 2.3 million residents.
Over 46,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which says women and children make up more than half the fatalities but does not distinguish between civilians and fighters. The Israeli military says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.
However, The first three hostages released from Gaza have arrived in Israel, the military announced Sunday, hours after the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas took hold.
Romi Gonen, 24, and Doron Steinbrecher, 31, also were released. Gonen was abducted from the Nova music festival, while the others were kidnapped from Kibbutz Kfar Aza. Damari is an Israeli-British dual citizen and Steinbrecher has Israeli and Romanian citizenship.
