Thousands try to return home to north Gaza after ‘open checkpoint’ rumours
Al Jazeera
Displaced Palestinians hoping to get back to the north flooded al-Rashid Street, despite Israel saying route was closed.
Thousands of Palestinians in Gaza have flooded the coastal road northwards after hearing that several people managed to cross a closed checkpoint towards Gaza City, despite Israel denying it was open.
Those making the journey on Sunday hoped to cross a military checkpoint on al-Rashid Street, south of Gaza City, but the Israeli army said that reports the route was open were “not true”.
On the other side, desperate families waited for their loved ones in the rubble of the battered main city in the besieged Palestinian territory.
Mahmoud Awdeh said he was waiting for his wife, who has been in the southern city of Khan Younis since the start of the war on October 7.
“She told me over the phone that people are leaving the southern part and heading to the north,” Awdeh said.
