Grieving Gazans return to streets as war falls silent

Men, women and children search for necessities and say goodbye to lost loved ones as temporary truce begins

Displaced Gazans walk through Khan Younis as they make their way back to their homes after a temporary truce between Hamas and Israel came into effect. Reuters

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As the clock struck 7am on Friday and the echoes of battle fell silent, exhausted and grieving residents of the ravaged Gaza Strip returned to the streets seeking a brief moment of normality.

The four-day truce between Hamas and Israel in Gaza had just begun, with the agreement set to allow the release of dozens of Israeli hostages held by the militant group. Some Palestinians detained in Israel are also to be freed under the deal.

Men, women and children walked past scenes of destruction, hoping to find necessities or reach homes they were forced to flee amid the Israeli bombardment that has killed more than 14,500 in the besieged Palestinian enclave.

Reem Najah, 45, returned to find her family's home destroyed in the bombing. She began looking through the rubble and rubbish for food and clothes.

“We were happy to see the truce, but we found out today that our home was destroyed. I have young kids, but we couldn’t find anything in our home. They destroyed us," she told The National.

Ms Najah is one of 1.7 million Palestinians who were forced from their homes and are now sheltering in schools, tents and hospitals.

Others had different to-do lists after the temporary truce began. Some sought out surviving relatives or held proper burials for those killed by Israeli strikes. Some were buried in mass graves in gardens and farmlands, or are still in body bags at hospital doors.

But for many, this was also an opportunity to have a walk without worrying about a strike, or to simply have a haircut.

Residents in the southern Gaza Strip told The National they were trying to secure necessities, including food, clothing or firewood, because of the lack of cooking gas and electricity.

“Of course, many will console each other,” one resident said.

“In general, the truce provides a breather for the people, even if it is temporary. The truce gives people hope that the war will begin to end."

The pause in fighting is to allow the release of some Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinians detained in Israeli jails. Additional aid has also entered Gaza, which has been gripped by a humanitarian crisis since the Israeli bombardment began.

Ahmad Al Najjar, 15, said the temporary truce allowed him to grieve those killed in the war.

"I thought about all my relatives who have been killed and how we will live after the fighting stops," he said.

"I saw damage everywhere. I saw dead sheep on the roads and people cleaning the streets from the blood and destruction."

Palestinians flee northern Gaza along Salah Al Din road amid the Israeli ground incursion. The temporary truce has brought respite from the war. AFP

After launching a ground incursion this month, the Israeli military said it divided Gaza in two.

“Today, there is north Gaza and south Gaza,” an Israeli army representative said.

The goal was to fight Hamas militants in the north after ordering civilians to flee south. Many of those displaced by the fighting fear they may not be able to return to their homes in the north, even if the pause holds.

Fawzia Abdul Rahman, an elderly woman with 10 children, was crushed to see the damage the war had done to her home.

“I’m sitting in the street. If we die, it will be better for us than living this life," she told The National.

Not every Gazan went to count the cost of the violence. Gassem Issam was focused on finding food.

"I have brought some fruits and snacks for my children. I also went back home to get clothes and blankets," he said after returning to the school where his family are sheltering.

"We've been targeted by fire and people were killed. There is no truce. If you go near them ([Israeli soldiers], they will shoot at you. There is no truce."