NUSEIRAT, Palestinian Territories: Masses of displaced Palestinians began streaming toward the north of the war-battered Gaza Strip on Monday after Israel and Hamas said they had reached a deal for the release of another six hostages.

The breakthrough preserves a fragile ceasefire and paves the way for more hostage-prisoner swaps under an agreement aimed at ending the more than 15-month conflict, which has devastated the Gaza Strip and displaced nearly all its residents.

Israel had been preventing Palestinians from returning to their homes in northern Gaza, accusing Hamas of violating the terms of the truce, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said late Sunday they would be allowed to pass after the new deal was reached.

Crowds began making their way north along a coastal road on foot Monday morning, carrying what belongings they could, AFPTV images showed.

“It’s a great feeling when you go back home, back to your family, relatives and loved ones, and inspect your house — if it is still a house,” displaced Gazan Ibrahim Abu Hassera said.

Hamas called the return “a victory” for Palestinians that “signals the failure and defeat of the plans for occupation and displacement.”

Its ally Islamic Jihad, meanwhile, called it a “response to all those who dream of displacing our people.”

The comments came after US President Donald Trump floated an idea to “clean out” Gaza and resettle Palestinians in Jordan and Egypt, drawing condemnation from regional leaders.

President Mahmud Abbas, whose Palestinian Authority is based in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, issued a “strong rejection and condemnation of any projects” aimed at displacing Palestinians from Gaza, his office said.

Bassem Naim, a member of Hamas’s political bureau, said that Palestinians would “foil such projects,” as they have done to similar plans “for displacement and alternative homelands over the decades.”

For Palestinians, any attempt to move them from Gaza would evoke dark memories of what the Arab world calls the “Nakba,” or catastrophe — the mass displacement of Palestinians during Israel’s creation in 1948.

“We say to Trump and the whole world: we will not leave Palestine or Gaza, no matter what happens,” said displaced Gaza resident Rashad Al-Naji.

Trump had floated the idea to reporters Saturday aboard Air Force One: “You’re talking about probably a million and half people, and we just clean out that whole thing.”

Moving Gaza’s roughly 2.4 million inhabitants could be done “temporarily or could be long term,” he said.

Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich — who opposed the truce deal and has voiced support for re-establishing Israeli settlements in Gaza — called Trump’s suggestion of “a great idea.”

The Arab League rejected the idea, warning against “attempts to uproot the Palestinian people from their land,” saying their forced displacement could “only be called ethnic cleansing.”

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said “our rejection of the displacement of Palestinians is firm and will not change. Jordan is for Jordanians and Palestine is for Palestinians.”

Egypt’s foreign ministry said it rejected any infringement of Palestinians’ “inalienable rights.”

Israel had said it would prevent Palestinians’ passage to the north until the release of Arbel Yehud, a civilian woman hostage who it maintained should have been freed on Saturday.

But Netanyahu’s office later said a deal had been reached for the release of three hostages on Thursday, including Yehud, as well as another three on Saturday.

Hamas confirmed the agreement in its own statement Monday.

During the first phase of the Gaza truce, 33 hostages are supposed to be freed in staggered releases over six weeks in exchange for around 1,900 Palestinians held by the Israelis.

The most recent swap saw four Israeli women hostages, all soldiers, and 200 prisoners, nearly all Palestinian, released Saturday in the second such exchange during the fragile truce entering its second week.

“We want the agreement to continue and for them to bring our children back as quickly as possible — and all at once,” said Dani Miran, whose hostage son Omri is not slated for release during the first phase.

The truce has brought a surge of food, fuel, medicines and other aid into rubble-strewn Gaza, but the UN says “the humanitarian situation remains dire.”

Of the 251 hostages seized during Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack that ignited the war, 87 remain in Gaza, including 34 the military says are dead.

The Hamas attack resulted in the deaths of 1,210 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed at least 47,306 people in Gaza, the majority civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry that the United Nations considers reliable.

RIYADH: Foreigners can now invest in Saudi-listed companies owning real estate in Makkah and Madinah, following a landmark decision by the Saudi Capital Market Authority.

Effective immediately, the move aims to boost the capital market’s competitiveness and align with the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 economic diversification objectives, the CMA announced in a press release. 

While non-Saudis are allowed to purchase properties in the Kingdom, there are specific restrictions, and in the holy cities ownership is generally limited to Saudi nationals — although foreigners are allowed to lease properties there. 

Under the new guidelines, foreign investments are limited to shares or convertible debt instruments of listed companies. Total non-Saudi ownership, including individuals and legal entities, is capped at 49 percent of a company’s shares.

However, strategic foreign investors are prohibited from holding stakes in these companies. 

The move comes amid reforms across the region, with most neighboring countries allowing foreigners to own properties, primarily in free zones or designated areas under certain restrictions. 

“Through this announcement, the Capital Market Authority aims to stimulate investment, enhance the attractiveness and efficiency of the capital market, and strengthen its regional and international competitiveness while supporting the local economy,” said the CMA. 

The changes are also designed to stimulate foreign direct investment in the Kingdom’s capital market, as well as bolster its regional and international competitiveness. 

“This includes attracting foreign capital and providing the necessary liquidity for current and future projects in Makkah and Madinah through the investment products available in the Saudi market, positioning it as a key funding source for these distinctive developmental projects,” added the CMA. 

Strengthening the real estate sector and attracting more FDI into the Kingdom is one of the key goals outlined under the Vision 2030 program, as Saudi Arabia aims to reduce its dependence on crude revenues and diversify its economy. 

The Kingdom aims to attract $100 billion in FDI by the end of this decade, and the government body has been implementing various initiatives and reforms to enhance the attractiveness of the capital market.

Some of these efforts include allowing foreign residents to directly invest in the stock market, enabling non-Saudi investors to access the market through swap agreements, and permitting qualified foreign capital institutions to invest in listed securities. 

The CMA has also allowed foreign strategic investors to acquire strategic stakes in listed companies and directly invest in debt instruments. 

In 2021, the CMA also allowed non-Saudis to subscribe to real estate funds investing within the boundaries of Makkah and Madinah, which played a crucial role in increasing the attractiveness of the capital market to both regional and international investors.