Tens of thousands of Palestinians streamed into the most heavily destroyed part of the Gaza Strip on Monday as Israel lifted its closure of the north for the first time

Health officials in Gaza say a Palestinian man was killed and seven people were wounded by Israeli fire overnight.

Israel is allowing Palestinians to return to the heavily destroyed north of the Gaza Strip for the first time since the early weeks of the 15-month war with Hamas, in accordance with a fragile ceasefire.

Israel kept thousands of Palestinians from returning to their homes in northern Gaza on Sunday as it accused Hamas of violating a fragile ceasefire by changing the order of

Qatar announced early Monday that an agreement has been reached to release an Israeli civilian hostage and allow Palestinians to return to northern Gaza, easing the first

An Israeli airstrike on Gaza's Deir al-Balah killed at least 10 Palestinians and wounded others, medics told Reuters on Tuesday.

Tens of thousands of Palestinians are returning to the most heavily destroyed part of the Gaza Strip. Israel lifted its closure of northern Gaza on Monday for the first time

Palestinians in the central Gaza Strip expressed their hope and joy over news of a potential ceasefire deal after mediators said Israel and Hamas were at the closest point yet to sealing an agreement.

Qatar announced early Monday that an agreement has been reached to release an Israeli civilian hostage and allow Palestinians to return to northern Gaza, easing the first major crisis of the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

Live view from Khan Younis and Deir al-Balah after multiple mediators said Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of dozens of hostages after more

The proposal is likely to heighten fears among Palestinians in Gaza, which had a pre-war population of around 2.3 million, of being driven out of the coastal strip, and stoke concern in Arab states that have long worried about the destabilising impact of any such exodus.

Three hostages were handed over to Israeli forces — the first of 33 expected to be freed over the next six weeks in exchange for some 1,900 Palestinians. The deal follows months of negotiations.