Tens of thousands of Palestinians streamed along the main roads leading north in Gaza on Monday (Jan 27), jubilant to be returning home after months of living in temporary shelter but fearing what might remain of their homes amid the bombed-out ruins.

The Islamist group Hamas said Monday that eight of 33 hostages to be released from the Gaza Strip in the first phase of a ceasefire agreement with Israel are dead. Twenty-five of them are still alive,