Gazans Stranded in West Bank Since October 2023 Remain Unable to Return

Under the bleachers of a stadium in the West Bank city of Nablus, a dozen men from Gaza live in a former changing room. They have been blocked from returning home by the war that began more than two and a half years ago. Among them is a 54-year-old man from Khan Yunis who had been working odd jobs in Tel Aviv, where wages are higher than in Gaza.

He traveled to Nablus four days before the war started on October 7, 2023. He now collects and resells recyclables to send money to his family after losing two sons to airstrikes. "I entered (Israel) only four days before the war," he said from the space he set up under the stadium stands.

"Look at me now -- I live in a tent. " He fashioned a dresser from cardboard boxes and decorated the walls with Palestinian flags and a portrait of Yasser Arafat found while collecting recyclables. All the men spoken to at the stadium had lost their homes in airstrikes and showed videos and photos of the destruction.

Another man, who declined to share his last name, arrived in the West Bank 10 days before the war to seek medical treatment for his son that was unavailable in Gaza. His son returned home, but he stayed to provide for the family and now lives in the stadium changing room.

"It's boring, but what can we do? We're in a jail," he said. He hung sheets on ropes to create dividers, similar to tent camps in Gaza. A 43-year-old businessman from Gaza moved from Tel Aviv to Ramallah after the war began. He had traveled two days before October 7 on a business permit.

He opened a falafel restaurant in Ramallah that employs nine people, all from Gaza, and sends support to his family. "Of course Gaza is dearer than here, but there, there is no home left, nothing," he said.

Israel controls about half of Gaza, and Israeli fire has killed at least 846 people since a U.S.-brokered ceasefire began in October 2025. A 45-year-old man from Beit Lahia holds West Bank residency after working there for 20 years. He has opened a farm in Qalqilya but has not seen his children since 2021 and cannot bring them across because of restrictions at the crossings.

The Palestinian Authority's labour ministry said in March it had provided cash assistance to 4,605 Gazans stuck in the West Bank. Counting the total number remains difficult. The men fear leaving city boundaries after reports of others being stopped at Israeli army checkpoints and sent back to Gaza.