Pakistan, Oct. 12 -- GAZA/TEL AVIV - Thousands of Palestinians made their way north through Gaza on Saturday, walking, driving, and riding carts back to their devastated neighbourhoods as a long-awaited ceasefire between Israel and Hamas appeared to hold. The truce marks the first phase of a US-brokered agreement to end the two-year war that killed tens of thousands and left much of the enclave in ruins. Israeli troops have now withdrawn from key urban areas under the agreement's terms, offering a glimmer of relief after years of relentless fighting.

For returning residents, the homecoming was both emotional and heartbreaking. Many found their homes destroyed, streets unrecognisable, and entire neighbourhoods flattened. "My house, which ...