Tens of thousands of Palestinians were jubilant to be returning home but fear what might remain of their homes.

Tens of thousands of Palestinian refugees in Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem were set to lose education, healthcare and other services provided by U.N. agency UNRWA as an Israeli ban on the organisation takes effect on Thursday.

The images from the territory, largely sealed off to journalists and others, have helped relief agencies and experts make estimates regarding the extent of the damage.

Crowds of displaced Palestinians made the arduous journey back to heavily destroyed northern Gaza for a second day Tuesday, under a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

Rifts with Hamas and a far-right minister’s threat to resign complicated progress toward the Israeli cabinet’s vote on the deal, which includes the release of hostages.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested Friday that his county’s military might not withdraw all of its forces from Lebanon by this weekend’s deadline set in its ceasefire with Hezbollah.

The directive came in a letter to the U.N., after the Israeli Parliament banned the relief agency that has aided Palestinian refugees for decades.

TEL AVIV — Hamas militants handed over four captive female Israeli soldiers to the Red Cross at Gaza City on Saturday after parading them in front of a crowd. Israel followed with the release of 200 Palestinian prisoners or detainees as part of the fragile ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

The truce is aimed at winding down the deadliest and most destructive war ever fought between Israel and the militant group. The fragile deal has so far held, quieting airstrikes and rockets and allowing for increased aid to flow into the tiny coastal territory.

Israel says it has killed thousands of the armed group’s members and destroyed much of its infrastructure, but since the cease-fire started Hamas has shown it still holds power in the enclave.

Israel is letting hundreds of thousands of Palestinians return to heavily destroyed northern Gaza as part of a fragile ceasefire