Thousands of Palestinians streamed north along the coast of Gaza on Saturday, trekking by foot, car and cart back to their abandoned homes as a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas appeared to be holding.
Israeli troops pulled back under the first phase of a US-brokered agreement reached this week to end the war.
Once the Israeli forces had completed their redeployment on Friday, which keeps them out of major urban areas but still in control of roughly half the enclave, the clock began ticking for Hamas to release its hostages within 72 hours.
Twenty-six hostages have been declared dead in absentia and the fate of two more is unknown.
According to the agreement, after the hostages are handed over, Israel will free 250 Palestinians serving long sentences in its prisons and 1,700 detainees captured during the war.
Hundreds of trucks per day are expected to surge into Gaza carrying food and medical aid, according to the agreement.
Further steps in US President Donald Trump's 20-point plan have yet to be agreed. Those include how the demolished Gaza Strip is to be ruled when fighting ends, and the ultimate fate of Hamas, which has rejected Israel's demands it disarm.
Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump expressed confidence the ceasefire would hold, saying: "They're all tired of the fighting." He said he believed there was a "consensus" on the next steps but acknowledged some details would still have to be worked out.
