The first shipment of Qatari humanitarian aid entered the Gaza Strip via the Erez (Beit Hanoun) crossing early Monday as thousands of Palestinians began to return to the north of the enclave, the Qatari Foreign Ministry said.

Israel has permitted the return of displaced people to the northern part of the territory following an agreement for an extraordinary exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, scheduled

Tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians began returning home to northern Gaza on Monday, bracing for what awaits them in a region that has been reduced to rubble by months of brutal bombardment and fighting.