Pictures of the week: From Gazans returning home to the Lunar New Year

Striking images from around the world

TOPSHOT - This aerial photo shows displaced Gazans walking toward Gaza City on January 27, 2025, after crossing the Netzarim corridor from the southern Gaza Strip. An unending stream of people marched up the coast of Gaza on January 27, carrying their belongings in plastic bags and repurposed flour sacks through the central city of Nuseirat after Israel reopened access to the territory's north. (Photo by AFP)

An aerial view of students camped in tents in a football stadium, as they take part in a march and protest over the collapse of a concrete canopy that killed 15 people more than two months ago, in Indjija, northern Serbia. AP

US President Donald Trump speaks with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington. AP

US tennis player Madison Keys kisses the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup after defeating Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus in the women's singles final at the Australian Open in Melbourne. AP

A child wrapped in a blanket at Agape Mundial shelter in Tijuana, Mexico. AP

Wreckage is recovered from the Potomac River after a passenger plane on approach to Reagan National Airport crashed into the river after a collision with a US Army Black Hawk helicopter, near Washington. AFP

Horticulturists put the finishing touches to a display in the glasshouse pond ahead of Kew Gardens' annual orchid festival in the Princess of Wales Conservatory in London. AP

Visitors trying the Halo ReNew wellness capsule, which offers red-light therapy, at Arab Health Conference held at Dubai World Trade Centre. Pawan Singh / The National

A migrant runs after entering the US undetected through a hole in a section of the Mexico border wall, in Sunland Park, New Mexico. Reuters

Rescue operations under way at a large sinkhole that swallowed a lorry near Tokyo. Reuters

Protesters clash with police during a protest against squatters being evicted from a building in Barcelona, occupied since 2020. EPA

Palestinians gather for the release of hostages, as part of a ceasefire and prisoner exchange deal between Hamas and Israel, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza. EPA

Hindu devotees rest after arriving for a holy dip at Sangam, the confluence of the Ganges, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati rivers, during the Maha Kumbh Mela festival, in Prayagraj, India. AP

Performers create sparks with molten steel at a Lunar New Year lantern festival in Nantong, in China’s eastern Jiangsu province. AFP

A cyclist ploughs through floodwater in Salisbury, southern England. AFP

Damaged vehicles are piled up in Valencia, Spain. About three months after flash floods, recovery and reconstruction efforts continue, with many still missing. EPA

A man offers prayers at Amurva Bhumi Vihara temple on the eve of the Lunar New Year of the Snake in Jakarta, Indonesia. AFP

The leader of the march known as The Guizer Jarl leads members of the Up Helly Aa festival in the morning parade in Lerwick, Shetland Islands, northern Scotland. EPA

An inmate looks on from his cell in a so-called mega-prison, where hundreds of members of street gangs are being held, in Tecoluca, El Salvador. AFP

Residents search for personal items from the remains of their apartment which were burnt in the Eaton Fire in Altadena, California. AFP

Displaced Palestinians who left the southern Gaza Strip where they had taken refuge, run for cover from Israeli fire, north-west of Nuseirat. AFP

Usman Nurmagomedov, left, defeats Paul Hughes by a majority decision in the main event for the Bellator lightweight championship at the PFL Road To Dubai Champions Series at the Coca-Cola Arena, Dubai. Chris Whiteoak / The National

A man carries an injured person in Burj Al Muluk, near the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Kila, Lebanon. Reuters

A woman feeds a baby as Palestinians wait to be allowed to return to their homes in northern Gaza. Reuters

Primate expert and conservationist Jane Goodall at Expo City Dubai for the launch of the Jane Goodall Pollinator Garden project. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Chefs compete the 2025 Bocuse d’Or at the Eurexpo exhibition hall in Chassieu, near Lyon, in eastern France. AFP

A mannequin dressed in military uniform used as a decoy during the war between Hezbollah and Israel, at Kibbutz Manara, on the Israeli border with Lebanon. AP

Lebanese gather in front of soldiers after being barred from entering the town of Meiss Al Jabal. People continue to wait to return to their homes in southern Lebanon amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. EPA

Chinese leaders and senior officials including President Xi Jinping, centre, attend a reception to celebrate the Chinese New Year, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. EPA

Fireworks explode over Victoria Harbour on the second day of the Lunar New Year of the Snake, in Hong Kong, China. Reuters