Tens of thousands of Palestinians streamed into the most heavily destroyed part of the Gaza Strip on Monday as Israel lifted its closure of the north for the first time since the early weeks of the 15-month war with Hamas in accordance with a fragile ceasefire.

After a ceasefire deal paused 15 months of war in Gaza, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians returned to the rubble of their homes.

With a ceasefire agreement pausing the war between Israel and Hamas, Israeli troops have withdrawn from Gaza city centers.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.

Tens of thousands of Palestinians streamed into Gaza’s most heavily destroyed area on Monday under a fragile ceasefire after Israel opened the north for the

Tens of thousands of Palestinians streamed along the main roads leading north in Gaza on Monday after Hamas agreed to hand over three Israeli hostages later this week and Israeli forces began to withdraw from a main corridor across the enclave.

Israel let tens of thousands of Palestinians go back to northern Gaza for the first time since the early weeks of the 15-month war with Hamas​, under terms of a fragile ceasefire​.

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.

Hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians returning to their homes in northern Gaza have passed through checkpoints in a central zone of the enclave where scanners check for concealed weapons being taken in cars and vehicles.

As families reunite, they also confront the devastation wrought by the 15-month war. Tens of thousands of tents are being sent to northern Gaza, where entire neighborhoods have been flattened.

Drone footage showed the destruction of buildings in Gaza City's Tal Al Hawa neighbourhood where thousands have arrived for the first time since Monday after more than 15 months of war between Israel and Hamas.

Crowds of displaced Palestinians made the arduous journey back to heavily destroyed northern Gaza for a second day Tuesday, under a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.