Thousands of displaced Palestinian people began returning to their homes in the Gaza Strip with the start of the ceasefire.
The main streets in the cities of the Gaza Strip were crowded with thousands of citizens returning to their homes, whether on foot, in carts, or in trucks, carrying their luggage, especially from Gaza City towards the northern Gaza Strip, according to “Agence France-Presse.”
The ceasefire agreement between the Israeli enemy and Hamas in the Gaza Strip entered into force on Sunday after a delay of approximately three hours, stopping a 15-month war that brought devastation to the Strip.
Palestinian medics said that Israeli airstrikes and artillery attacks killed 13 Palestinians between 06:30 GMT, when the ceasefire was supposed to begin, and 09:15 GMT, when it actually took effect.
The Israeli occupation blamed Hamas for the delay after the Palestinian armed group failed to submit a list of the names of the first 3 hostages to be released under the agreement.
Hamas attributed the delay to “technical” reasons, without specifying those reasons.
A Palestinian official familiar with the matter, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters news agency that the delay occurred because mediators had requested 48 hours of “calm” before implementing the ceasefire, but continued Israeli strikes until the deadline had passed, making it difficult to send the list.
