Israel on Monday began allowing Palestinians to return to the heavily destroyed north of the Gaza Strip for the first time since the early weeks ofthe 15-month war with Hamas, in accordance with a fragile ceasefire.

Thousands of Palestinians headed north after waiting for days to cross. Associated Press reporters saw people crossing the so-called Netzarim corridor shortly after 7 a.m. when the checkpoints were scheduled to open.

The opening was delayed for two days over a dispute between Hamas and Israel, which said the militant group had changed the order of the hostages it released in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.

The ceasefire is aimed at winding down the deadliest and most destructive war ever fought between Israel and Hamas and securing the release of dozens of hostages captured in the militants’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack, which triggered the fighting.

Israel ordered the wholescale evacuation of the north in the opening days of the war and sealed it off shortly after ground troops moved in. Around a million people fled to the south in October 2023 and have not been allowed to return. Hundreds of thousands remained in the north, which had some of the heaviest fighting and the worst destruction of the war.