Thousands of Palestinians streamed north along the coast of Gaza on Saturday, trekking by foot, car, and cart back to their abandoned homes as a ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas appeared to be holding, Reuters reported.

Israeli troops pulled back under the first phase of a US-brokered agreement reached this week to end the war, which has killed tens of thousands of people and left much of Gaza in ruins.

"It is an indescribable feeling; praise be to God," said Nabila Basal as she traveled by foot with her daughter, who she said had suffered a head wound in the war. "We are very, very happy that the war has stopped, and the suffering has ended."