Tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians, mostly women, children and the elderly, began a long march on foot to return to their homes in Gaza City and the northern Strip. The Al-Rashid coastal road connects the south to the north of the Strip and the long procession passed Israeli checkpoints in central Gaza unhindered.
Some of the displaced families said they were notified by telephone by someone in the Israeli army that men over fifty, male children under 14 and women of all ages could return. Israel has denied having authorized the return, but the families say they were told they could return if they paid a small amount of money to be returned to their home in the northern part of the Gaza Strip, which is run by the Palestinian Authority. The Israeli military denied havingauthorized the return and said it would not allow the return of anyone under the age of 50 or anyone under 14 to go back to their hometowns in the north or central Gaza. The march passed through Israeli checkpoints unhindering, Ma'an news agency reported.