Israel warns Palestinians not to return to north Gaza

On Day Three of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire, the Israel Defense Forces warned Palestinians who evacuated northern Gaza not to return.

Reiterating warnings made in dropped leaflets, the IDF’s Arabic Spokesman Lt. Col. Avichay Adraee directed Palestinians to continue moving south of Wadi Gaza. He also instructed Gazans not to try to return to the Strip’s northern areas, enter the sea or approach within one kilometer of the Israeli border.

One condition of the temporary ceasefire was that Palestinians would not try to return to their homes in the combat zone of northern Gaza. While there does not appear to be large-scale efforts to return, the warnings have not stopped some Palestinians from returning to inspect damage or bury the dead.

A four-day ceasefire between Israel and the Hamas terrorist organization went into effect at 7 a.m. on Friday.

As part of the deal approved by the Israeli Cabinet last Wednesday, Hamas is to release 12 to 13 hostages each day of the truce. The release of every additional 10 hostages will result in one additional day in the pause in combat, for up to five days.

So far, 26 Israelis and 15 foreign nationals have returned to Israel.

Under the agreement, the Israel Defense Forces is to refrain from using surveillance drones in Gaza for six hours each day of the ceasefire. Israel will also allow fuel to enter the Strip during that time and dramatically increase the volume of goods permitted into the enclave.

On Saturday, the Israeli Defense Ministry’s Coordinator for Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) unit announced that four tankers of fuel and four tankers of cooking gas had entered Gaza from Egypt through the Rafah crossing.

At least 1,200 people were killed in Hamas’s attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on Oct. 7. Another approximately 240 men, women and children were taken back to Gaza as hostages. Some people remain unaccounted for as Israeli authorities continue to identify bodies and search for human remains.