The return of Palestinian displaced persons to the northern part of the Gaza Strip began this morning, following an agreement in indirect negotiations with Israel, a Hamas Interior Ministry official in the enclave told Agence France-Presse. “The passage of Palestinian displaced persons began along the Ar Rashid road, through the western part of the Netzarim checkpoint to Gaza City and towards the northern part” of the enclave, the official said.

As a reminder, the Israeli government announced that internally displaced residents would be allowed to begin returning to their homes in the northern part of the enclave today, following an agreement with the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas that will allow the release later this week of additional hostages, according to Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu’s office.

The agreement will allow the fragile ceasefire between the Israeli armed forces and Hamas to continue in the fragile Truce in the Gaza Strip, which has suffered immense destruction after 15 months of war, with almost the entire population (2.4 million pre-war) forcibly displaced, in most cases repeatedly.

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“Tens of thousands” of displaced people were yesterday prevented by Israeli armed forces from returning to communities in the north through a crossing in the so-called Netzarim corridor, which cuts the small coastal Palestinian territory in two, according to the Civil Defense.

Israel justified its refusal to let them through by citing the failure to release 27-year-old civilian Arbel Yehud and the fact that it has not received a list of the status of the hostages to be released.

Last night, Mr Netanyahu’s services announced that progress had finally been made in indirect negotiations: Hamas will release three hostages on Thursday, including Arbel Yehud, and then three more on Saturday 1 February.”As part of these arrangements” Israel will “allow from this morning (Monday) the passage of the people of Gaza to the northern Gaza Strip,” Prime Minister Netanyahu’s office added.