Thousands of Palestinians sheltering in southern Gaza have rushed to the north in the hours since the ceasefire began, hopeful it will hold long enough for them to return home.
"We are very happy. We are celebrating our loved ones. We're going to see our loved ones and our neighbours," Wissam Al-Durra, 23, told the ABC.
He said he was walking to the north, to his home in Tel Al-Hawa, because all the cars were broken.
He hoped to find his loved ones all still alive, he said, and to identify and bury the dead and reconnect others with their families in the south.
"We, of course, hope the bloodshed will stop," he said, thanking everyone who helped reach a ceasefire deal.
"Despite the siege, we stood by each other, and despite the enemy's violence and the occupation's violence, we are steadfast and Gazans are steadfast."
With Israel's re-invasion of Gaza City, at least 400,000 already displaced Palestinians have fled south since mid-August, searching for safety and aid.
Obaida Ayoud, 73, from Al-Shati Camp lost her husband and one of her daughters and was left with nowhere to go.
"I am excited, but I got upset because our home was destroyed … I don't know where my girl and I will stay," she said.
"I don't have any money, not even a single penny," she said, explaining why she was walking to the north.
"They ask for 50 shekels, where am I going to get that?"
Israel's military announced its troops withdrew to the agreed-upon positions at midday on Friday, local time, to prepare for the release of hostages in the coming days.
Izzat Al-Rishq, a member of Hamas' political bureau, said the movement of people and their inability to wait for safe arrangements was "in and of itself, an act of resistance".
"The insistence of the people of Gaza on their swift return to the ruins of their homes is a stark expression of their adherence to justice," he said in a statement.
"The right to cross when the Zionists sought to prevent it, and the right to walk from one end of the strip to the other, is an instinctive adherence to justice and an instinctive march back to one's birthplace."
The IDF told Gazans they were permitted to move from south to north via the Rashid and Salah al-Din routes but areas on the outer edges of the strip, as well as the sea, were dangerous.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israeli forces would remain in Gaza to pressure Hamas until it disarmed.
As part of the ceasefire, Hamas is expected to release all the remaining hostages — those dead and alive — within three days.
Many fear that once the hostages are released, loud voices in the Israeli government will push to continue the war, pushing Palestinians back to the South.
Hostage families anxiously waiting
As anxiety ahead of the hostage releases grows, one of the most outspoken critics of the Israeli prime minister has insisted he needs to be removed from office.
Yehuda Cohen's son Nimrod, a serving Israeli soldier, is among the hostages believed to still be alive.
Mr Cohen said the ceasefire and hostage deal should not be used by Mr Netanyahu as a way to avoid facing the consequences of presiding over the October 7 attacks and the war since.
"It's not just that we won't forget it, it is not revenge — we have to make sure for the future of this country, for the future of ourselves, for the future of our region, that people like him can never have the authority to handle even a vegetable shop," Mr Cohen told the ABC.
"We have to make sure people who are responsible will be punished for that, so it will never happen again.
"If we want stabilisation in our region, if we want a progressing country — I want to live in security in my country — we have to make sure that people like Netanyahu … will never be in power again."
Mr Cohen said his son's recovery would obviously be his primary concern in the coming days, adding he had no knowledge of his condition.
He feared the collapse of the last ceasefire in January and February could have signalled a deterioration in the condition of his son and other hostages.
"After Nimrod will come back and we'll have time to rehabilitate him and take care of him and put him back to normal life — yeah, we've got to go back to fighting," Mr Cohen said.
"We've got to [go] back on the streets, making sure this government will resign as fast as possible for the good of the country of Israel, for the good of the region."
He argued the war had shown there needed to be a lasting peace deal between Israel and the Palestinian people.
"I'm an Israeli citizen, I live all my life in Israel, my family is in Israel, my house, my job, everything is in Israel," Mr Cohen said.
"I'm an Israeli patriot and I'm saying for the good of the country of Israel, we must go for a two-state solution.
"We must separate between Israel and Palestine, so we can live our normal lives like every other normal country and protect our democratic way of life."
