The Israeli military has warned Palestinians not to return to northern Gaza

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DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip – The Israeli military on Monday reiterated its warning to Palestinians in Gaza not to return to the north of the war-torn territory, after Gaza hospital officials said five people had been killed as more refugees tried to return home. war-torn region.

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Northern Gaza was the first target of Israel's war against Hamas, and large parts of it were flattened, forcing most of the area's residents to flee the south. Although the north is said to be home to around 250,000 people, the Israeli military has prevented most of those displaced in the six-month war from returning, saying the area is an active combat zone.

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The military has reduced its troop numbers in Gaza and said it has loosened Hamas' control of the north, but Israel is still conducting airstrikes and targeted operations in the region against what it believes are regrouping militants in the Gaza Strip. the main hospital, Shifa, which was destroyed after two weeks of raids and fighting last month.

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Israel's military spokesman, Avichai Adrae, wrote on Twitter X that Palestinians should stay in southern Gaza, where they should be given shelter, because the north is a “dangerous battle zone.”

People seem to be heeding a new warning, especially after Sunday's violence.

Hospital authorities in Gaza said five people were killed by Israeli forces while trying to return home to the north. Their bodies were taken to Awda Hospital in Nuseirat city camp in central Gaza, hospital records showed. Another 54 people were injured in the incident, according to the source.

The Israeli military had no immediate comment and the exact circumstances of the death were not immediately known.

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Anaam Mohammed, who was displaced from the northern city of Beit Hanoun and tried to return, said the military was allowing women and children to pass, but when a group of Palestinians refused to let them pass, two tanks arrived and opened fire. fire. The forces also threw smoke bombs and dispersed the crowd.

“People started running away. “People were afraid and could not enter the dangerous area,” he said.

Ahead of Sunday's violence, scores of people gathered on the coastal road and traveled north on foot and by donkey cart. The returnees encouraged them to undertake the dangerous journey because they were tired of the harsh conditions they had to live in while they were displaced.

“We want our own houses. We want our lives. We want to return with or without peace,” said Umm Nidhal Khatab, a migrant from the north.

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The return of northern Gaza and its residents is a key issue in talks between Israel and Hamas over a ceasefire in exchange for the release of hostages held by the militant group. Israel wants to delay the return to prevent a regroupment of militants in the north, while Hamas says it wants a free flow of returnees.

The war has taken a staggering toll on Gaza's civilian population, with many of the territory's 2.3 million people displaced by the fighting, living in dire conditions, with little food, often in tents, and no end in sight to their suffering. Large sections of the urban landscape were damaged or destroyed, leaving many displaced Palestinians with nowhere to return.

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Six months of fighting in Gaza have plunged the tiny Palestinian territory into a humanitarian crisis, leaving more than 1 million people on the brink of starvation.

Famine is said to be imminent in the north, where aid is scarce due to the war. Israel has opened a new crossing for aid vehicles to the north as it ramps up aid deliveries to the besieged enclave. However, the United Nations says that the increase in aid in Gaza will not be felt due to ongoing distribution challenges.

The UN food agency said on Monday it was able to deliver fuel and wheat flour to a bakery in the isolated northern city of Gaza for the first time since the war began.

The conflict began on October 7 when Hamas invaded southern Israel in a surprise attack killing 1,200 Israelis, mostly civilians. Militants took about 250 hostages and took them to Gaza. The November deal freed about 100 hostages and left about 130 in captivity, although Israel says a quarter of them are dead.

Israeli bombing and ground attacks in Gaza have killed more than 33,700 Palestinians and injured more than 76,200, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its report, but says two-thirds of the dead are women and children.

Israel claims to have killed more than 12,000 militants during the war, but has provided no evidence to support this claim.

— Magdi reported from Cairo.

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