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​.

With a ceasefire agreement pausing the war between Israel and Hamas, Israeli troops have withdrawn from Gaza city centers.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

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.

Four female Israeli soldiers held hostage by Hamas have returned to Israel after militants paraded them in front of a crowd of thousands in Gaza City.

Under the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, thousands of Palestinians have begun the painful journey back to their homes in northern Gaza. After being displaced for over 16 months, many are returning to find their homes destroyed and their communities shattered.

Hamas officials accused Israel on Wednesday of delaying aid deliveries to Gaza and jeopardising a truce and hostage release deal, an allegation Israel dismissed as "fake news."

More than 300,000 displaced Palestinians have now returned to the ruins of their homes in Gaza City. Mediators have begun negotiations over the second stage of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

Displaced Palestinians continued to stream into Gaza’s most heavily destroyed area on Tuesday, a day after Israel opened the north for the first time since the early weeks of the war with Hamas.