Palestinians return to devastated homes in Rafah amid fragile truce

ISRAEL-HAMAS TRUCE HOLDING

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RAFAH (GAZA STRIP): Palestinians returning to Rafah, Gaza's southernmost city, after an eight-month Israeli military offensive, were met with widespread destruction. Homes and neighbourhoods had been reduced to rubble, leaving many to grapple with the reality of starting over from nothing.

"We found destruction, destruction," said Mohamed Abu al-Kheir, a displaced Palestinian now living in a tent in Khan Younis. "There is nothing to live in. No furniture or anything."

A tenuous ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war was holding as of Monday. The truce followed the exchange of three Israeli hostages for 90 Palestinian prisoners in a bid to end the 15-month-long conflict that has devastated Gaza. The three freed hostages, all Israeli women, reunited with their families in central Israel, where medical staff reported their stable condition. Simultaneously, jubilant crowds greeted the Palestinian prisoners released from Ofer prison in the West Bank.

In Rafah, Associated Press footage captured scenes of extensive destruction. Residents searched the ruins of their homes while others inspected abandoned military vehicles left behind by Israeli forces. Entire families returned with hopes of reclaiming their lives, only to be met with devastation.

"Who wants to live in such destruction?" asked Mahmoud Khamis, a Rafah resident whose home was obliterated. “No one will come to live here.”