Dreams of returning home dashed by reality in Gaza City

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Dreams of returning home dashed by reality in Gaza City

Tess Ingram, Communications Manager for UNICEF Middle East and North Africa, is in the northern city where she witnessed people moving through the streets on donkeys, in cars, or by bicycle.

© UNICEF/Eyad El Baba

Displaced Palestinians walk along a street in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip.

People on the move

Humanitarians report that more displaced families are returning to northern Gaza as the ceasefire continues to hold. 

More than 462,000 people have crossed from the south since the opening of the Salah ad Din and Al Rashid roads on Monday.

The UN and partners are providing water, high-energy biscuits and medical care along the two routes, while the World Food Programme (WFP) plans to set up more distribution points in the north this week.   

Displaced Palestinians are also moving from north to south, though in smaller numbers, with about 1,400 people making the journey as of Thursday. 

Restoring critical services

Across Gaza, extensive efforts are underway to restore critical services, including civilian infrastructure, which the UN and partners are supporting.

WFP has delivered more than 10,000 metric tonnes of food to the enclave since the ceasefire took effect.

On Thursday, 750 trucks entered Gaza, according to information obtained by the UN on the ground through interactions with the Israeli authorities and the guarantors for the ceasefire deal.

The previous day, UNICEF distributed 135 cubic metres of water to communities in Jabalya, Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun, located in North Gaza governorate.  These areas had been besieged for over three months.  

Furthermore, 35,000 litres of fuel were delivered to northern Gaza to sustain the operations of water, sanitation and hygiene facilities, while water trucking in Rafah is being scaled up.

Humanitarian partners are also coordinating with the Gaza Electricity Distribution Company to repair the damaged power line that feeds the South Gaza desalination plant, which is currently running on fuel.

West Bank violence continues

Meanwhile, in the West Bank, Israeli military operations in northern areas have expanded beyond Jenin and Tulkarm to the nearby governorate of Tubas

Ten people reportedly were killed on Wednesday when an Israeli air strike hit a group of Palestinians in Tammun, a village in Tubas governorate. 

This brings the death toll from the ongoing Israeli operation in the northern West Bank to 30, including two children.   

Overall, more than 3,200 families have been displaced from Jenin refugee camp in the context of Palestinian Authority and Israeli operations since December, according to local authorities. 

Humanitarian partners continue to deliver aid, including food parcels, kitchen kits, baby supplies, hygiene items, medicines, and other essential supplies.  

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