US, Egyptian security peronnel inspect traffic on key Gaza route

Hundreds of cars, tuk-tuks, small lorries and carts crawled up to the checkpoint.

The vehicles, most of them old and sometimes in a sorry state, were loaded with luggage, mattresses and other objects as they negotiated the dilapidated dirt road.

In the middle of the gridlock, made even more difficult by the rain, were Red Crescent vehicles and fuel trucks.

The fragile ceasefire agreement in Gaza halted more than 15 months of war in the territory and set out set out arrangements for the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners in Israeli custody.

This agreement also provides for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from populated areas of Gaza over six weeks and the delivery of humanitarian aid.

Moein Abbas, a 46-year-old resident of Gaza City, said he hopes traffic will be able to move on the Salaheddin Road without inspections.

‘Freedom of movement’

His priorities for the moment are “freedom of movement, continued calm, the delivery of food, the rehabilitation of hospitals, the reopening of schools and the installation of tents or caravans for accommodation, in order to allow a gradual return to normal life,” said Abbas.

The Israeli army withdrew from a part of the Netzarim Corridor weeks ago, allowing hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians to return on foot from the south of the territory to their towns, camps and villages in the north of Gaza.

The passage of vehicles was only allowed on Sunday.

Rafat al-Hassanat, 27, had returned with his wife and daughter to his home southwest of the intersection, but given the scale of destruction, they initially spent the night in a tent next to their destroyed home.

The conditions eventually forced them to shelter in an orphanage, west of Gaza City.

“It’s extremely cold, the children have fallen ill,” he said.

“We want the crossing points to be open as normal,” Hassanat said.

He also criticised a plan by Donald Trump’s to relocate Palestinians outside of Gaza, which the US president said was for their good.

“If he really wants to help us, he must demand that Israel withdraw its forces, open the crossing points and rebuild Gaza,” said Hassanat.

“We want an end to the occupation of Gaza.”