Gaza ceasefire: Israeli fire kills 1, wounds 7 as Palestinians are kept out of north Gaza

Palestinian man killed, seven wounded by Israeli fire; Trump suggests resettling Gaza population; ceasefire tensions escalate.

A Palestinian man was killed and seven people were wounded by Israeli fire overnight, local health officials said Sunday (January 26, 2025), as thousands gathered in hopes of returning to the northern Gaza Strip under a fragile week-old ceasefire aimed at winding down the war.

In a separate development, U.S. President Donald Trump suggested Saturday (January 25, 2025) that most of Gaza's population should be at least temporarily resettled elsewhere, including in Egypt and Jordan, in order to “just clean out” the war-ravaged enclave.

Egypt, Jordan and the Palestinians themselves have previously rejected such a scenario, fearing Israel might never allow the refugees to return.

Under the Israel-Hamas ceasefire, Israel on Saturday (January 25, 2025) was to begin allowing Palestinians to return to their homes in northern Gaza on foot through the so-called Netzarim corridor bisecting Gaza. Israel put the move on hold until Hamas frees a hostage, who Israel said was supposed to have been released Saturday (January 25, 2025). Hamas in turn accused Israel of violating the agreement.

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Crowds of people travelling by foot and carrying their belongings crowded a main road leading to a closed Israeli checkpoint. “We have been in agony for a year and a half,” Nadia Qasem, a woman displaced from the north said as she waited. “Since 1 a.m. we have been waiting to return.”

Fadi al-Sinwar, who was also displaced from Gaza City, said, “the fate of more than a million people is linked to one person,” referring to the Israeli hostage.