Transcript of Palestinians return to ruins of north Gaza after Israeli withdrawal | BBC News

Thousands of Palestinians have been returning to their homes in Northern Gaza after the withdrawal of Israeli troops from a key militarized zone that had cut the territory in half. And what many of the returnees will find is rubble. Around 700,000 people fled their neighborhoods before Israel's ground invasion, following the October the seventh Hamas attacks in 2023. The northern part of the Gaza Strip had been cut off from the south by the Netzarim Corridor. The Israeli withdrawal from the strategically important road is part of the current ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. Well, the BBC, along with other international broadcasters, isn't allowed by Israel to report from inside Gaza. Wira Davis has our top story from Jerusalem.

Internal refugees from Gaza's war, finally able to return north. Carrying whatever they can, however they can, thousands people are heading home, or at least to where their homes once stood. Once they get there, it's a case of picking through what's left of their lives.

We are steadfast, and we've been patient under the rockets and strikes. They've deprived us of food and water, but they haven't deprived us of air.

Gaza is like no other.

Gaza is the center of life for us, says this man, determined to rebuild his life in the ruins of the north. The ceasefire that has allowed this follows one of the biggest bombing campaigns in military history. More than 60% of Gaza's buildings, particularly in the north, have been destroyed or badly damaged. But it's a fragile truce. Yesterday's images of weak and gaunt hostages angered the Israeli government. But polls suggest an overwhelming majority of Israelis support a continuation of the ceasefire.. Yuli Ben Ami, who yesterday embraced her dad, O'Had, after 15 months in captivity, also demanded a ceasefire extension for the sake of remaining hostages.

We will not give up and we'll continue to fight until everyone is home. We must continue until all faces of the deal are done and save our people.

It's an agreement that's brought tangible benefits for Palestinians, too. More than 500 prisoners have been released from Israeli jails under the deal.

Benjamin Netanyahu has now returned from America, where he heard Donald Trump's controversial plans to rebuild Gaza.

All eyes are now on whether the Israeli Prime Minister will back an extension to the ceasefire. If the war resumes, today's step, allowing people to return home, will count for little.

Well, tonight, Mr. Netanyahu has told his cabinet that Mr. Trump's vision is better for Israel and that he, Trump, is determined to see it through. But Arab nations have again responded, saying that the enforced relocation of civilian Palestinians from Gaza simply cannot happen. It is a line in the sand for them. And before all of that, this is a critical week. If the ceasefire is to get into a second phase, those talks need to get underway and need to succeed because the consequences, if they for many, are unthinkable.