Hamas: The Return Of The Residents To The Northern Gaza Strip Heralds The Return Of The Palestinian Refugees To Their Homes Inside Israel

Hamas has been presenting the ceasefire agreement with Israel as an "immense victory," and regards the war it launched on October 7, 2023 as a "scaled-down model" of the "final" war in which Israel will be eliminated and all the Palestinian refugees and their descendants will return to their original homes within its territory.  Statements to this effect were made by Hamas officials recently, and also in the course of the war.[1]

As part of this narrative, Hamas officials have been drawing a link between the return of the residents to the northern Gaza Strip – which began on January 27, 2025 as part of the ceasefire agreement – to the "great return" of the Palestinian refugees and their descendants to their homes inside Israel. They called the return to the north a "historic event" in the history of the conflict with Israel, one that reflects the ability of the Palestinian people and the Palestinian resistance to realize "the dream of the great return." This idea was also expressed in graphics and cartoons posted on Hamas' social media accounts.

This report reviews some of these statements by Hamas officials and some of these graphics and cartoons.

Hamas: The Return Of The Displaced Gazans To The North Is An "Unprecedented" Event In The History Of The Conflict

On January 27, 2025, as residents began to return to the northern Gaza Strip in accordance with the ceasefire agreement, Hamas published a statement presenting this as a historic and momentous event: "The return of hundreds of thousands of our people [to the northern Gaza Strip] despite the occupation’s opposition reflects our people's ability to expel it and realize the great dream of returning to our homes [within Israel]... This unprecedented event in the history of the conflict – [namely] the return of hundreds of thousands of our people who are [now] migrating to areas in the northern Gaza Strip, to the chagrin of the occupation and its extremist government – expresses the ability of our people and their resistance to liberate our land and our holy places and realize the great dream of returning to our homes from which we were expelled 77 years ago under the pressure of the Zionist terrorism and fascism..."[2]

Gazans returning to the north of the Gaza Strip (Image: T/me/ShehabTelegram, January 27, 2025)

The same day, Hamas official Izzat Al-Rishq posted a similar message on his Telegram account: "The return of our people from the south to the north of the Gaza Strip is the most important event in the world and a great historic victory. Today saw the joyous return of our honored people and our noble displaced families to their homes in the Gaza Strip after 471 days [of war], and tomorrow will see the realization of the greater joy, Allah willing, with the return of the refugees who were expelled from their cities and villages [within Israel] more than seven decades ago. The persistence of the resistance, which pressured the occupation to implement the clause of returning the displaced [Gazans to the north], highlight the bond and unity of the resistance and its people, who are [all] in the same trench, [struggling] to realize their aspirations of liberation and return."[3]

 
Cartoon by Alaa Al-Laqta: "Today," the return of the Gazans to the north, "tomorrow," return to all of Palestine (Facebook.com/alaa.allagta, t.me/ShehabTelegram2, January 27, 2025)

Hamas Official: The Return Of The Displaced Gazans Is "A Step Towards The Full Achievement Of The Right Of Return"

At a January 26 reception in Cairo for Palestinian terrorists released as part of the ceasefire deal, senior Hamas official Khaled Mash'al described the "Al-Aqsa Flood" (Hamas' name for the war) as "an earthquake that swept through the region and gave a breath [of hope] to humanity." Gaza, he added, "has changed many perceptions and evoked a spirit of hope on the path to liberation." He stated further that the return of the Gazans to the north "is a step towards the full achievement of the right of return," and that this "flood of returnees" is "a great epic of heroism and sacrifice, which has given [us] hope to return to all our cities and villages [within Israel] from which we emigrated..."[4]

Cartoon by Mahmoud Abbas: Th return to Gaza is a station on the way to Jerusalem (instagram.com/ma3bs, t.me/alresalahpress, January 27, 2025)

Similar messages were conveyed by other Hamas officials who spoke at the event, including Khalil Al-Hayya, the head of Hamas's Gaza branch. To view a clip of his statements, click below:

Hamas Official: The Return Of The Displaced Is The Beginning Of The "Great Return"

Hamas official Bassem Na'im spoke in a similar vein in an interview on Aljazeera.net, saying: "It is no exaggeration to say that this day [of the beginning of the return to the north] is one of the greatest and most important days in the history of the conflict with the Zionist enemy, since, for the first time, everything the enemy tried to establish as a template for the conflict has been overturned: the Palestinians are returning to the homes from which they were uprooted; a large number of prisoners sentenced to life and [other] long sentences have been freed by force, and the occupying forces have withdrawn under the attacks of the resistance. This is an impressive scenario in this round of confrontation with the enemy, and it reflects a shift in the strategy of the struggle, in preparation for the great return... Fate decreed that this day should coincide with the anniversary of al-Isra’ wal-Mi'raj,[5] and this return may be the beginning of [our] path to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, to liberate it and pray in it..."

Addressing the suggestion of U.S. President Donald Trump to relocate Gazans to Egypt and Jordan, Na'im said: "This people, which is now returning to the north, will certainly reject any plan of emigration from Gaza or of an alternative homeland, just as for decades it has thwarted every plan of emigration and of resettling [the Palestinian refugees]. There are still seven million Palestinians living abroad whose greatest dream is to return to Palestine and to their homes [inside Israel]…"[6]