One hundred and one Palestinians, who have been stranded in Egypt for nearly two months, yesterday returned home to the Gaza Strip, controlled by Hamas. Israel allowed the group to travel to Israel and then re-enter the Strip. The Palestinians were given food and water while in Israeli territory. They are the first of some 600 Palestinians expected to return home in the coming days. The Gazans were escorted across the Erez crossing at the Israel-Gaza border yesterday evening.

Thousands of Palestinians who fled to Egypt when Hamas violently seized control of the Gaza Strip in mid-June have been unable to return home. Border crossings have largely remained closed in the wake of the takeover.

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Oron Ronen, an Israeli official at the crossing point on the Egypt-Israel border said Israel had approved 91 names but at least six more people had arrived hoping to be allowed through. The process was delayed by several hours due to bureaucratic discrepancies between Israel and Egypt, The Associated Press reported.

A Palestinian official, Hani al-Jabour, told reporters that a deal agreed upon Saturday would allow around 627 Palestinians to cross into Gaza via Israel. He said the Palestinians had been chosen on a first-come-first-served basis and that none of them were wanted by Israel.