Amid the truce, some Palestinians from Gaza returned to their homes in northern and central Gaza – to find rubble and debris.
Some Palestinians returned to their homes in the central and northern Gaza Strip after a four-day truce took effect.
But for many, only rubble remained where their homes once stood.
Tel Aviv Tribune’s Hisham Zaqout visited the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza on Saturday, where he spoke with several Palestinians who took advantage of the break in fighting to return to their neighborhoods – to witness total destruction.
“Our house is destroyed, nothing is left standing. And most of the ducks and chickens were eaten by hungry street dogs,” said an elderly woman.
“This is not a war; it’s genocide,” she added. “These are unprecedented crimes.”
Zaqout said many residents of the Bureij camp have been forced to head to the Nuseirat refugee camp further west due to intense and constant bombardment by the Israeli army since last month.
When they returned, they found their homes razed and some dead buried under the rubble. The elderly woman said she used to “come from time to time, despite the merciless bombings.”
“It was very dangerous, but I have to come and check on my chicken flock. I am not afraid. If I am destined to be killed, I will die. My life is not in the hands of the Zionists.
“I hope the ceasefire can last forever”
Another camp resident spoke of the unimaginable destruction that awaited him upon his return.
“Honestly, I never imagined the scale of the destruction; not even 1 percent,” the young man said.
“My house was bombed. It has suffered damage and is no longer habitable. It has to be rebuilt again,” he added.
When asked how he could stay there again, he replied that he would rather live in a house without walls “than be humiliated in overcrowded UN schools.”
“We drink sea water and pretend it’s fresh water. What can we do?”
Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been forced to take refuge in United Nations-run schools since the start of the war. But they have also not proven safe, and numerous Israeli attacks targeting them have left dozens of civilians dead.
The truce, which lasts until Monday, involves the release of dozens of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel in exchange for Israelis and other nationals detained in Gaza.
It could be extended, the United States and others have signaled, but Israel and its Western allies have not supported a ceasefire in the besieged strip.
Another Gaza resident speaking to Tel Aviv Tribune said he “wishes for eternal peace, not just four days, because people have endured too much suffering and are still suffering.”
“I hope the ceasefire can last forever. For what? Because we are tired, we are tired of a life like this.
Another displaced Palestinian, a resident of Khuza’a in southern Gaza, said the scale of the destruction shocked him after returning home to the north.
“The destruction is very great, the tears flow by themselves. God is enough for us and that’s all I can say.