Tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians began returning home to northern Gaza on Monday, bracing for what awaits them in a region that has been reduced to rubble by months of brutal bombardment and fighting.

With a ceasefire agreement pausing the war between Israel and Hamas, Israeli troops have withdrawn from Gaza city centers. For the first time in eight months, NPR got a glimpse of Rafah this week.

By OSAMA SALEH, WAFAA SHURAFA and JOSEPH KRAUSS GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel says a Hamas list shows that eight of the 33 hostages to be released in the first phase of the Gaza

The Israel-Hamas war has devastated the Gaza Strip. Satellite photos offer some sense of the destruction in the territory.

By OSAMA SALEH, WAFAA SHURAFA and JOSEPH KRAUSS GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel says a Hamas list shows that eight of the 33 hostages to be released in the first phase of the Gaza

Many residents of northern Gaza and southern Lebanon are expected to return to their homes in the coming days and weeks, with most of the fighting in both areas paused under Israeli ceasefire agreements with Hamas and Hezbollah.

Under the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, Palestinians are starting the long journey back to their homes in northern Gaza. Mahmoud Ayoub busily packed warm blankets and clothes in the Nusseirat refugee camp in central Gaza.

During a pause in fighting between Israel and Hamas, with fragile hopes for an end to the war, relief is soon weighed down by sorrow.

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians streamed into Gaza’s most heavily destroyed area on Monday after Israel opened the north for the first time since the early weeks of the war with Hamas, a dramatic reversal of their exodus 15 months ago.

Masses of displaced Palestinians began streaming towards 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.

President Trump said he had spoken to Jordan’s leader and planned to call Egypt’s. Mr. Trump’s suggestion echoes proposals from far-right Israelis. A Hamas official rejected the idea.