Home at last... the 200,000 returning to northern Gaza for first time in 15 months

Masses of Palestinians walk north along the coastal route as those travelling in cars face days-long waits at checkpoints

- BEL TREW

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are streaming into devastated northern Gaza - many for the first time since the early weeks of the 15-month war - allowing them to reunite with loved ones and see what has become of their homes.

A column of people, some holding infants in their arms or carrying bundles of belongings on their shoulders, headed north on foot, along a road running by the shores of the eastern Mediterranean. More than 200,000 displaced people returned to north Gaza on foot in the two hours after the crossing opened, according to a Gaza security official speaking to the AFP news agency.

Many will return home to find their homes flattened by intense Israeli bombardment, but that did not extinguish the sense of joy at finally being allowed to return.

"It's like I was born again," said Palestinian mother Umm Mohammed Ali, part of the miles-long crowd that moved slowly along the coastal road.

"My heart is beating, I thought I would never come back," Osama, 50, a public servant and father of five told Reuters as he arrived in Gaza City, the largest city in the north. "Whether the ceasefire succeeds or not, we will never leave Gaza City and the north again, even if Israel would send a tank for each one of us, no more displacement."