Gazans have begun making their way to northern parts of the Gaza Strip despite the fact that the ceasefire had been delayed and the IDF has not permitted the move, Al Jazeera and Israeli media reported.
תיעוד: חזרת עקורים עזתים לאזור ג'באליה@sapirlipkin pic.twitter.com/HYnOHu8TtW
— החדשות - N12 (@N12News) January 19, 2025
The ceasefire was meant to go into effect on Sunday at 8:30 a.m. local time but was delayed due to Hamas's failure to provide the list of names of the three hostages meant to be released on the same day.
The ceasefire finally went into effect at 11:15 a.m.
Humanitarian aid that is meant to enter the enclave as part of the agreement has also been delayed as a result of Hamas not releasing the names, N12 reported.
As part of the agreement reached between Hamas and Israel, civilians were not meant to return to northern Gaza until the second phase of the deal.
Palestinians are reportedly not convinced that the ceasefire is delayed, Al Jazeera journalist Hind Khoudary reported surrounded by Palestinians in Khan Yunis preparing to travel back to northern Gaza.
Despite the delay in the Gaza ceasefire, Palestinians in Gaza are celebrating and hoping the deal will be confirmed in the coming hours. Al Jazeera's @Hind_Gaza reports from Khan Younis ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/2AdMT8jSBp
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) January 19, 2025
People who had gathered to cheer the fighters chanted "Greetings to Al-Qassam Brigades."
"All the resistance factions are staying in spite of (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu," one fighter told Reuters, referring to Hamas armed wing.
"This is a ceasefire, a full and comprehensive one God willing, and there will be no return to war in spite of him."
She noted that among the civilians, Hamas police officers had also been spotted. The presence of gunman flagged in Hamas gear is also revealed in Reuters photos released today in pictures claiming to be from Khan Yunis.
Saudi news network Al Hadath shared footage of Hamas vehicles driving through Khan Yunis and Deir al-Balal.
مشاهد توثق انتشار مسلحين تابعين لحركة حماس في شوارع خان يونس ودير البلح#حماس#خان_يونس#قناة_الحدث pic.twitter.com/SNQCAyJGYE
— ا لـحـدث (@AlHadath) January 19, 2025
The Palestinians are moving toward Jabaliya and Rafah, Khoudary reported.
War against Hamas continues
The civilians migration comes as the IDF confirmed it continued to attack terrorists targets in northern and central Gaza.
Three Palestinians were killed in eastern Gaza city by Israeli drones that opened fire in some parts east of the city, medics in the enclave told Reuters.
Israeli military strikes killed at least eight Palestinians across the Gaza Strip amid a delay in the implementation of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, the Hamas-run Palestinian Civil Emergency Service said.
After Hamas invaded southern Israel on October 7 2023, breaking an existing ceasefire, and murdered some 1200 people - Israel launched a counteroffensive. Hamas's use of civilian infrastructure and displaced community has complicated Israel's war and caused significant difficulties for the Palestinian civilian population in the enclave.
"I feel like at last I found some water to drink after getting lost in the desert for 15 months. I feel alive again," Aya, a displaced woman from Gaza City, who has been sheltering in Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza Strip for over a year, told Reuters via a chat app.
"We are now waiting for the day when we head back to our home in Gaza City," Aya said. "Damaged or not, it doesn't matter, the nightmare of death and starvation is over."
Ahmed Abu Ayham, 40, displaced with his family from Gaza City and sheltering in Khan Younis, said the scene of destruction in his home city was "dreadful," adding that while the ceasefire may have spared lives it was no time for celebrations.
"We are in pain, deep pain and it is time that we hug one another and cry," Abu Ayham said via the same app.
"The war ended, but life isn't going to be better because of the destruction and the losses we suffered," Aya said. "But at least there will be no more bloodshed of women and children, I hope."