Columns of Palestinians carrying what belongings they can have headed to north Gaza, after Israel permitted their passage in accordance with the ongoing ceasefire.

Israel allowed hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians to start returning to their homes in the north this week. Although the crowds had thinned somewhat by Tuesday, thousands of men, women and children were still on their way, fully aware they had little waiting for them but rubble.

“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,” said the 41-year-old.

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 Hanoon, was among the areas hardest hit by a months-long Israeli military operation which continued right up to this month’s ceasefire.

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“We returned to Gaza City with nothing, and there’s no drinking water. Most streets are still blocked by the rubble of destroyed homes,” said the 20-year-old.

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.”

More than 375,000 Palestinians have crossed into northern Gaza since Israel on Monday morning opened the way to return, the United Nations said on Tuesday. That represents more than a third of the million people who fled the north in the war’s first weeks in late 2023.

Increasing essential supplies to people is a focus. Although aid deliveries have increased since the ceasefire began, the need remains overwhelming.

The World Food Programme said it distributed more food in the first four days of the ceasefire than in the entire month of December.

But the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that those returning north would need other essential supplies, too, like drinking water, shelter equipment and hygiene kits.