[ecr] According to media reports, starting at 7 a.m. local time (5 a.m. GMT), thousands of people traveled on foot along the Al-Rashid coastal road heading north in Gaza.

Palestinian activists on social media shared videos showing residents singing and celebrating their return.

Gaza's media office previously announced that movement toward northern Gaza was permitted on foot, but not by car, along the coastal road starting at 7 a.m.

It also said that residents could travel by car from central and southern Gaza to the north via Salaheddin Street, east of Gaza, starting at 9 a.m.

A ceasefire came into effect on January 19 in Gaza after nearly 16 months of devastating Zionist aggression, which resulted in more than 47,000 Palestinian martyrs, most of them women and children.

Meanwhile, much of the enclave lies in ruins, with hundreds of thousands left homeless and reliant on external aid for survival. [/ECR]