Columns of Palestinians carrying what belongings they could headed to north Gaza on Tuesday for a second straight day, after Israel permitted their passage in accordance with an ongoing ceasefire.
"I'm happy to be back at my home," said Saif Al-Din Qazaat, who returned to northern Gaza but had to sleep in a tent next to the ruins of his house.
"I kept a fire burning all night near the kids to keep them warm... (They) slept peacefully despite the cold but we don’t have enough blankets," the 41-year-old told AFP.
On Monday, Israel allowed hundreds of thousands of displaced Gazans to return to their homes in the north.
Although the crowds had thinned somewhat by Tuesday, thousands of men, women, and children were still seen heading north, fully aware they had little waiting for them but the rubble of their homes.
In central Gaza's Nuseirat refugee camp, children waved at Egyptian soldiers manning checkpoints along the route as vehicles laden with mattresses, bags and other belongings made their way north.
For many, the journey marked not just a return home but a confrontation with the harsh realities of more than 15 months of war in the densely populated territory of 2.4 million people.
Mona Abu Aathra managed to travel from central Gaza to Gaza City, though she has yet to assess the full extent of the war's impact on her home.
Her hometown, Beit Hanoun, was among the areas hardest hit by a months-long Israeli military operation which continued right up to this month's ceasefire.
"We returned to Gaza City with nothing, and there's no drinking water. Most streets are still blocked by the rubble of destroyed homes," the 20-year-old told AFP.
Despite the devastation, Abu Aathra expressed relief at being reunited with her family.
"It’s the first night we’re together again, me, my mother and my father. Last night, we gathered with my three brothers who were here in Gaza City."
The Hamas government press office said 300,000 people returned north on the first day of returns on Monday. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) put the figure at 200,000.
The returns had been due to begin on Saturday, but Israel delayed the start, accusing Hamas of reneging on the terms of the ceasefire by failing to include woman civilian Arbel Yehud among the Israeli hostages released at the weekend.
After Hamas agreed to release Yehud and two other hostages by Friday, Israel opened the corridor on Monday morning.
Mahmoud Kashko, who had decided not to return north on Monday, said he had been swept up in the collective momentum on Tuesday.
"I was hesitant to return to Gaza City, but when I saw hundreds of thousands of people coming back, I decided to return," he told AFP.
"I arrived at my home today. Of course, it's destroyed like most people's homes."
Others were still waiting to see how the ceasefire unfolds.
Another Gaza City resident, Hamouda al-Amsi, explained that his younger brother Amer and his family decided to remain in their tent at a displacement camp in the south.
"They don’t want to return to Gaza City yet because there are no houses, tents, water or food there," Amsi said.
"It's the same across the territory — there are no basic necessities for life."
Although aid deliveries have increased since the ceasefire began, the territory’s needs remain overwhelming.
The World Food Program said it distributed more food in the first four days of the ceasefire than in the entire month of December.
But OCHA said that those returning north would need other essential supplies too, like drinking water, shelter equipment and hygiene kits.
Amsi refused to be put off.
"We will rebuild our homes, and life will return to how it was before (the Hamas attack of) October 7, (2023)," he said confidently.
