Doctors say 2-year-old Habiba al-Askari has days to live as gangrene creeps up her arms and legs, and only an urgent medical evacuation out of Gaza may save her life.

Hamas has released eight hostages five Thai farm workers and three dual German-Israeli nationals. That's in exchange for 110 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.

Tens of thousands of Palestinians streamed into the most heavily destroyed part of the Gaza Strip on Monday as Israel lifted its closure of the north for the first time since the early weeks of the 15-month war with Hamas in accordance with a fragile ceasefire.

My mother, father, and brothers are all buried in one grave,” 12-year-old Alma Ja’arour said. "There is no home to return to, no one waiting for me.”

After a ceasefire deal paused 15 months of war in Gaza, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians returned to the rubble of their homes.

Nedal Hamdouna, a Palestinian journalist, has been displaced seven times by the 15-month war in Gaza. Here, he describes the joy he felt in being able to return to Beit Lahia in the north of the strip

With a ceasefire agreement pausing the war between Israel and Hamas, Israeli troops have withdrawn from Gaza city centers. For the first time in eight months, NPR got a glimpse of Rafah this week.

Despite the extreme hardships they have experienced and the long road ahead, children in Gaza are holding fast to their dreams of a better future.

The release of more than 100 Palestinian prisoners as laid out in the Israel-Hamas cease-fire deal had been in doubt after crowds in southern Gaza surrounded hostages who were being freed.

Throngs of people eagerly waited on Thursday for more than 100 Palestinian prisoners who were released from Israel in exchange for hostages held in Gaza.

Two Israelis and five Thai nationals were released as part of a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel that began Jan. 19.