They returned under a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, walking for hours to reach the bombed-out landscape.

Israeli troops pull back but maintain a watchful eye on the tens of thousands of Gazans who had been displaced during the 15 months of fighting.

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.