Militants led Israeli hostage Arbel Yehoud through a chaotic crowd in Gaza ahead of her release, hours after Hamas handed a captive Israeli soldier over to the Red Cross in the Gaza Strip.

Israel is letting thousands of Palestinians return to northern Gaza for the first time since the early weeks of the war with Hamas​, as a fragile ceasefire endures​.

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

By OSAMA SALEH, WAFAA SHURAFA and SAMY MAGDY GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians streamed into Gaza’s most heavily destroyed area on Monday after Israel

With a ceasefire agreement pausing the war between Israel and Hamas, Israeli troops have withdrawn from Gaza city centers.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

Palestinians are eager to return to their homes — even knowing that they have likely been damaged or destroyed.

Thousands of Palestinians are returning to the northern Gaza Strip Monday as part of the cease-fire and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas.

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.

Trump also said he's ended his predecessor’s hold on sending 2,000-pound bombs to Israel, which Biden had implemented out of concern for civilian casualties in Gaza.

President Donald Trump said Saturday he’d like to see Jordan, Egypt and other Arab nations increase the number of Palestinian refugees they are accepting from the Gaza Strip — potentially moving out enough of the population to “just clean out” the war-torn area to create a virtual clean slate.

The truce is aimed at winding down the deadliest and most destructive war ever fought between Israel and Hamas, whose Oct. 7, 2023, attack into Israel sparked the fighting.