Gaza's civil defence agency has said more than 500,000 people have returned to Gaza City since a ceasefire took effect.
"More than half a million people have returned to Gaza (City) since yesterday," said Mahmud Bassal, a spokesman for the civil defence, a rescue service operating under Hamas authority.
Thousands of Palestinians streamed north along the coast of Gaza, 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 the US-brokered agreement reached this week to end the war, which has killed tens of thousands of people and left much of the enclave in ruins.
"It is an indescribable feeling; praise be to God," said Nabila Basal as she travelled by foot with her daughter, who she said had suffered a head wound in the war.
"We are very, very happy that the war has stopped, and the suffering has ended."
Once the Israeli forces had completed their redeployment yesterday, 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.
"We are very excited, waiting for our son and for all the 48 hostages," said Hagai Angrest, whose son Matan is among the 20 Israeli hostages believed to still be alive. "We are waiting for the phone call."
Twenty-six hostages have been declared dead in absentia and the fate of two more is unknown.
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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.
US President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff was in Gaza early today to observe the Israeli military redeployment, Israeli Army Radio reported, citing a security source.
He was joined by the head of the US military's Central Command (CENTCOM), Admiral Brad Cooper, who said in a statement that his visit was part of the establishment of a task force that would support stabilisation efforts in Gaza, though US troops would not be deployed inside the enclave.
Hamas ready to fight if Gaza war resumes, official says
Hamas stands ready to fight if war resumes in Gaza and rejects proposals to leave the territory under US President Donald Trump's peace plan, a senior official has told AFP.
Political bureau member Hossam Badran also predicted difficult negotiations ahead, suggesting the key question of disarmament could be a sticking point for the Palestinian militant group.
He was speaking in Doha - where Israel struck a Hamas meeting last month, killing six people - as a ceasefire holds in Gaza ahead of a Monday deadline for the release of Israeli hostages captured during Hamas's October 7, 2023 attacks.
However, many parts of US President Donald Trump's proposal have still not been agreed, including Hamas's disarmament and plans for post-war governance.
Does Hamas intend to retain its weapons?
Hossam Badran said: "It is important to note that Hamas's weapons are not the only ones. Today we are talking about weapons that are the weapons of the entire Palestinian people, and weapons in the Palestinian case are a natural thing and a part of history, the present, and the future.
"That is the natural situation, as I said, for every people living under occupation... (and) what weapons are they talking about? Are they talking about tanks? About fighter jets? About advanced weaponry? The weapons possessed by Hamas and by the resistance are individual weapons for the defence of the Palestinian people."
What happens if Israel attacks again?
Hossam Badran said : "I believe that all observers and followers did not expect this war to continue for two years, while the resistance, with the help of the Qassam Brigades and others, remains capable of steadfastness, endurance, and directing blows at the occupation army.
"We hope that we will not return to (war), but our Palestinian people and the resistance force will undoubtedly confront and use all their capabilities to repel this aggression if this battle is imposed."
How does Hamas view the next negotiations?
Hossam Badran: "The second phase of negotiations requires a more complex discussion, and it is not as easy as the first phase. The second phase of the Trump plan, as it is clear from the points themselves, contains many complexities and difficulties. This requires negotiations, perhaps longer, but it also requires, before that, a Palestinian national dialogue to arrive at a Palestinian national answer."
Will Hamas leave the Gaza Strip?
Hossam Badran: "The Hamas leaders present in the Gaza Strip are present on their land, the land they have lived on for many years, among their families and people. Therefore, the normal situation is for them to remain there... We long for the day when we can return to the land from which we were banished and displaced.
"Talk about expelling Palestinians, whether they're Hamas members or not, from their land is absurd and nonsense."
Will Hamas take part in the formal signing?
Hossam Badran: "We are dealing primarily through Qatari and Egyptian mediators, of course... The matter of the official signing - we will not be involved."
Will the talks establish a pathway to a Palestinian state?
Hossam Badran: "It is not important whether it will be achieved in the near future or not. What is important is that the world realises that the Palestinian issue cannot be ignored.
"If we do not obtain our right to establish our state during this coming phase, there will be no stability in this region, and the Palestinian people will continue and will persist in their struggle and resistance by all forms and by all means until this fundamental goal for Palestinians is achieved."
Trump expected to travel to Israel and Egypt
Questions still loom about whether the ceasefire and hostage-prisoner exchange deal, the biggest step yet towards ending two years of war, will lead to a lasting peace under US President Donald Trump's 20-point plan to end the war.
Much could still go wrong. Further steps in 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, Mr 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.
Israeli attacks have killed more than 67,000 Palestinians over the past two years, mostly civilians, according to health authorities in Gaza, figures deemed reliable by the UN.
Watch: Palestinians return to north of Gaza as ceasefire appears to hold
The current stage of the war began when Hamas-led militants attacked Israeli communities, military bases and a music festival on 7 October 2023, killing 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and capturing 251 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
The world's biggest academic association of genocide scholars passed a resolution last month saying the legal criteria have been met to establish Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.
Global hunger monitor IPC determined last month that an entirely man-made famine is currently taking place in Gaza, while UN human rights chief Volker Turk said the famine was the direct result of Israeli government policies
Donald Trump is expected to visit the region on Monday and address the Knesset, Israel's parliament, the first US president to do so since George W. Bush in 2008.
Mr Trump said he would also travel to Egypt and that other world leaders were expected to be present.
'Wounds and sorrow'
As thousands of Palestinians began their journeys home, Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) said in a joint statement that they had achieved "a setback for (Israel's) goals of displacement and uprooting".
"The negotiation process and the mechanism for implementing the agreement still require high national vigilance and close monitoring around the clock to ensure the success of this stage," the groups said.
"We will continue to work responsibly with the mediators to ensure that the occupation is bound to protect the rights of our people and end their suffering," they added.
Gaza's civil defence agency confirmed that Israeli troops and armoured vehicles were pulling back from forward positions in both Gaza City and Khan Younis.
However, Israel warned some areas were still off-limits and that Palestinians should steer clear of its forces while they were "adjusting operational positions in the Gaza Strip".
'Multi-layered fear' remains for hostages, families
Before dawn yesterday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said the government had approved a framework of the hostage-release deal.
The family of Alon Ohel, who is among the 20 living hostages due to be released, said they were "overwhelmed with emotion" and eagerly awaiting his return.
"With tears of joy, we received the news that an agreement has been reached," the family said.
US-Israeli dual national Jonathan Dekel-Chen, whose son Sagui was kidnapped by Hamas and returned earlier this year, said that there exists a "multi-layered fear" still for the remaining hostages.
Speaking on RTÉ's Saturday with Colm Ó Mongáin, he said that it is a balance between fear and joy for hostage families.
While the exchange, expected to take place on Monday, seems very close, Mr Dekel-Chen said families know an awful lot could go wrong from the Israeli or Hamas side or some other actor.
He said that hostages have gone through "living hell" over the last two years, as they have been starved, tormented and tortured, while living under poor sanitary conditions and living in fear of death from their captors or Israeli bombs.
"There are very very mixed feelings I’m sure.
"Hamas may not be able to return all of the bodies or remains, because they can’t locate them," he said, adding that for those families, the feeling of closure that comes from giving their loved one's remains a proper burial may not be possible.
Mr Dekel-Chen said that he was aware that everyone can only be at peace again in Israel when "the madness in Gaza ends" and all hostages come home.
Despite celebrations in Israel and Gaza and a flood of congratulatory messages from world leaders, many issues remain unresolved, including Hamas's disarmament and a proposed transitional authority for Gaza led by Mr Trump.
Senior Hamas official Osama Hamdan told Qatar-based broadcaster Al Araby the Palestinian Islamist movement rejects the transitional authority.
Watch: 'We just want to live in peace' - Israelis welcome Gaza ceasefire
Lebanon condemns overnight Israeli strikes that killed one
Meanwhile, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun has condemned Israel for carrying out overnight strikes on civilian facilities that the health ministry said killed at least one person.
"Once again, southern Lebanon has been the target of a heinous Israeli aggression against civilian installations - without justification or pretext," Mr Aoun said. "The seriousness of this latest attack lies in the fact that it comes after the ceasefire agreement in Gaza."
The ministry said an Israeli strike on the Al-Msayleh area left one person dead and seven others wounded. The official National News Agency said Israeli warplanes conducted 10 raids targeting bulldozer and excavator yards.
