WADI GAZA, Gaza Strip (AP) — From early Monday morning and hours afterward, crowds of Palestinians filled Gaza’s main coastal road for kilometers (miles) as they streamed north. With their belongings on their backs, they smiled, hugged and sang, overjoyed at the prospect of returning home after more than a year of war.

For nearly 16 months, hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians have lived in tents, barred from returning to northern Gaza. On Monday, Israel allowed them to walk back.

Gaza Tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians began their long-awaited return to the north, more than 18 months after being evicted by Israel's war on Gaza. Those on foot took Al Rasheed Street, while vehicles took the Salah Al Din Street,