As thousands of Palestinians are heading home to northern Gaza after 15 months of forced displacement by the Israeli military, Senior Hamas official Basem Naim has described today as “the most important day in the current history of this conflict”.

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Naim argued that Israel was “for the first time” obliged to allow Palestinians to return to their houses after being forced “by the resistance”, in a similar way that it was “forced to release” Palestinian prisoners.

“This is, I think, a very symbolic day,” he added. “This is a very important day in how to approach this conflict with the Israelis, which language they understand.”

Naim also reiterated Hamas’s commitment to the ceasefire agreement and said the group was “ready to do the maximum to give this deal a chance to succeed”.