BEIRUT — Palestinian refugees from the Sbeineh refugee camp in Rif Dimashq, Syria, started returning to their homes last week, some four years after the Palestinian camp was devastated by war and then shuttered by the Syrian army.

The Syrian army retook the town of Sbeineh from rebel groups in November 2013 after a fierce military campaign that battered the town and the Palestinian camp of the same name, leaving homes in tatters and infrastructure in ruins. The camp remained closed to civilians since then, with front lines in Daraya and south Damascus that were active until recently just a few miles away.

But on Aug. 27, Palestinian-Syrian community Facebook pages began sharing videos and images of crowds pouring into Sbeineh camp accompanied by Syrian soldiers. There was an air of celebration, the sound of women ululating as they passed beneath the camp’s concrete gates.

Civilians had been permitted by Minister of State for National Reconciliation Affairs Ali Haidar and military officers to re-enter the camp and assess their properties — the first time civilians had gone inside Sbeineh since 2013.