Israel begins allowing Palestinians to return to northern Gaza for first time in over year

Israel has begun allowing Palestinians to return to the heavily damaged northern Gaza Strip for the first time in months, following a fragile ceasefire amid the ongoing 15-month conflict with Hamas. Thousands of Palestinians, who had been waiting for days, crossed into the area on Monday through the Netzarim corridor. The reopening of the corridor was delayed due to a dispute between Hamas and Israel regarding the order in which hostages were released in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.