Tens of thousands of Palestinians began returning to a ravaged northern Gaza and what was left of their homes and families, after Hamas agreed to release more hostages than expected this week to keep its cease-fire with Israel in place.

The Republican said that, under his preferred vision, the resettling of the Palestinians from Gaza “could be temporary or long-term.”

Crowds of Palestinians fill Gaza’s main coastal road as they stream north. With their belongings on their backs, they smile, hug and sing, overjoyed at the prospect of returning home after more than a year of war.

Asked for a reaction to Trump's comments, a foreign ministry spokesperson said Berlin shared the view of "the European Union, our Arab partners, the United Nations ... that the Palestinian population must not be expelled from Gaza and Gaza must not be permanently occupied or recolonised by Israel."

Tens of thousands of displaced Gaza residents ended months of exile in temporary camps and began returning to what was left of their homes on Monday after Israel opened a corridor into the north of the battered enclave.

Israel let tens of thousands of Palestinians go back to northern Gaza for the first time since the early weeks of the 15-month war with Hamas​, under terms of a fragile ceasefire​.

The hostages include Arbel Yehud - the civilian at the centre of a row which had led to Israel delaying Palestinians' from heading to north Gaza.

An agreement has been reached between Israel and Hamas that involves the release of additional hostages and the return of Palestinians to the northern part of the Gaza Strip.

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians streamed into Gaza’s most heavily destroyed area on Monday after Israel opened the north for the first time since the early weeks of the war with Hamas, a dramatic reversal of their exodus 15 months ago.

Chicago police launched a homicide investigation after a 63-year-old man was found dead Sunday night in the Norwood Park West neighborhood.

Far-right finance minster says he is working on an 'operational plan' to turn idea into actionable policy; Otzma Yehudit leader says mass emigration is the 'humanitarian answer' The post Smotrich and Ben Gvir rally behind Trump’s Gaza emigration idea appeared first on The Times of Israel.