The first phase of the highly anticipated Gaza ceasefire plan has come into effect on Friday as Israeli forces withdrew from urban areas allowing thousands of Palestinians to trek across the wasteland of rubble to their abandoned homes.

A huge column of people filed northwards on foot along the coastal road overlooking sandy beaches towards Gaza City, the enclave's biggest urban area, which had been under attack just days ago in one of Israel's biggest offensives of the war.

The Israeli military said the ceasefire agreement had been activated at noon, local time.

An estimated 200,000 people have returned to northern Gaza since the ceasefire began.

In the south, people picked their way through the dusty moonscape that was once Gaza's second-largest city, Khan Younis, which Israeli force

See Full Page