In Pictures

Israel sends thousands of cross-border Palestinian workers back to Gaza

The workers returned through the Kerem Shalom crossing after being detained and ill-treated in Israel.

Palestinian labourers, who were in Israel during the Hamas October 7 attack, arrive at the Rafah border after being sent back by Israel to the strip, in the southern Gaza Strip. — Palestinian labourers, who were in Israel during the October 7 attack by Hamas, arrive at the Rafah border after being sent back by Israel to the Gaza Strip [Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters].

Israel sent thousands of Palestinians back to war-torn Gaza on Friday, as it pursued a crackdown on workers and labourers from the territory who had previously been given permits to take up jobs in Israel and the occupied West Bank.

Large numbers of workers returned through the Karem Abu Salem crossing, called Kerem Shalom by Israel, east of the Rafah crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, which has been pounded by Israeli jets and tanks for weeks since the October 7 war started.

“We used to serve them, work for them – in houses, in restaurants, and in markets – in return for the lowest wages, and despite that, we have now been humiliated,” said Jamal Ismail, a worker from the Maghazi refugee camp in central Gaza.

Israel previously issued more than 18,000 permits allowing Gaza Palestinians to cross into Israel and the Israeli-occupied West Bank to take jobs in sectors such as agriculture or construction.

However, the system has been scrapped, as Israel has reversed its previous policy of offering economic incentives for stability and instead mounted a combined air and ground offensive to eradicate Hamas, the Palestinian armed group that controls Gaza.

Commenting on footage showing men entering the Gaza Strip on foot, Miriam Marmur, advocacy director of Israeli non-profit group Gisha, told Al Jazeera that they could not confirm Palestinian media reports that said some 7,000 people had crossed into Gaza.

“We don’t know how many were being detained by Israel and how many people have been released into the strip but this appears to be the beginning of the implementation of [the Israeli cabinet’s] decision,” she said.

Workers crossing into the Palestinian enclave said they were detained and ill-treated by Israeli authorities in the wake of the October 7 attack.

Palestinian day laborers in Israel arrive in the Gaza Strip at the Kerem Shalom crossing brought by the Israeli authorities. — Palestinian cross-border workers, who returned to Gaza via the Karem Abu Salem crossing, said they were detained and ill-treated in Israel. [Fatima Shbair/AP Photo]

Palestinian labourers, who were in Israel during the Hamas October 7 attack, embrace as they arrive at the Rafah border after being sent back by Israel to the strip, in the southern Gaza Strip. — The workers were pushed back to the besieged enclave after the office of Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that the 'workers from Gaza who were in Israel on the day of the outbreak of the war will be returned to Gaza'. [Ibraheem Abu/ Reuters]

A Palestinian labourer, who was in Israel during the Hamas October 7 attack, is greeted as he arrives at the Rafah border after being sent back by Israel to the strip, in the southern Gaza Strip. — The exact number of workers present in Israel as the hostilities began on October 7 remains unknown, but thousands are thought to have been rounded up by the Israeli army and transferred to undisclosed locations. [Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters]

A Palestinian worker, one of the workers who were in Israel during the Hamas October 7 attack, gestures as he arrives at the Rafah border after being sent back by Israel to the strip, in the southern Gaza Strip. — Those from areas in northern Gaza would have to stay in the south after Israeli forces completed cutting off roads linking the two parts of the enclave late on Thursday, according to Palestinian officials. [Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters]

A Palestinian labourer Khaled al-Bahnasi, who was in Israel during the Hamas October 7 attack and said that he was beaten on his head by Israeli forces, is welcomed as he arrives at the Rafah border after being sent back by Israel to the Strip, in the southern Gaza Strip. — Palestinian labourer Khaled al-Bahnasi, who was in Israel during the October 7 attack by Hamas and said he was beaten on his head by Israeli forces, is welcomed as he arrives at the Rafah border after being sent back by Israel to the Gaza Strip. [Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters]

Children wait for the arrival of Palestinian workers, who were in Israel during the Hamas October 7 attack, at the Rafah border after being sent back by Israel to the strip, in the southern Gaza Strip. — Children wait for the arrival of Palestinian workers, who were in Israel during the October 7 attack by Hamas, at the Rafah border after being sent back to the Gaza Strip. [Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters]