GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) – Tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians loaded their belongings into cars, carts and bicycles on Saturday and weaved their way back to their neighborhoods through dusty streets as bulldozers began to plow through the debris of two years of bombing.
Aid organizations were preparing to scale up relief efforts, one of many challenges ahead. Ceasefire between Israel and Hamas We are now on our second day.
“When people get there, they’re going to find rubble. They’re going to find their homes and neighborhoods turned to dust,” UNICEF spokeswoman Tess Ingram told The Associated Press on Friday.
Although the ceasefire appears to be holding, her organization and its partners are calling on Israel to reopen more of its borders and allow aid to flow more freely into Gaza. Meanwhile, about 200 US troops arrived in Israel to rescue hostages and monitor the ceasefire.
“A ceasefire is not enough,” Ingram said from central Gaza. “Yes, we can hopefully end child feticide, but we also need to ensure a surge in humanitarian assistance that begins to address the enormous damage that has been caused over the past two years.”
COGAT, the Israeli military agency responsible for humanitarian aid, said more than 500 trucks had entered Gaza on Friday, but many crossings remained closed. Ingram said UNICEF had 1,300 trucks ready and more were expected to arrive, as declared famine was still ongoing in parts of the district.
The aid is among 170,000 tonnes placed in neighboring countries awaiting permission from Israel to resume suspended shipments.
Since the ceasefire was announced, the days have moved rapidly. The Israeli military confirmed the measure had come into effect on Friday and announced that the 48 hostages remaining in Gaza would be released on Monday. A U.N. official said on condition of anonymity because details have not yet been made public that Israel had also approved an increase in aid from Sunday.
Steps mark important steps towards completion. war Caused by Hamas on October 7, 2023; attack on israel. The fighting has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, destroyed entire neighborhoods, and forced some 90% of Gaza’s more than 2 million residents to flee multiple times.
Israel prepares for hostage return
Israel prepared for the long-awaited return of hostages held captive for more than two years across the border.
“There have been several sleepless nights. We want them back, but we feel that everything is hanging by a thread,” Maayan Eliasi, a Tel Aviv resident, told a rally in the city’s Hostage Square. “I can’t heal. None of us can.”
The government believes about 20 of the 48 hostages believed to be in Gaza are alive.
doubts remain Over who will rule Gaza as Israeli forces gradually withdraw, and whether Hamas will disarm as called for in the deal. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who unilaterally ended a ceasefire in March, has signaled that Israel could resume attacks if Hamas fails to disarm.
“If it’s achieved the easy way, so be it. If not, it will be achieved the hard way,” he said on Friday, pledging that the next step would bring about the disarmament of Hamas.
Relief, liquidation and a new security order in Gaza
The scale of the destruction will become clearer as Israeli forces withdraw to the cease-fire line, but the United Nations said in September that more than three out of four buildings had been destroyed, creating an amount of rubble equivalent to 25 Eiffel Towers, much of which was likely toxic.
A February assessment by the European Union and the World Bank estimated damages at $49 billion, including $16 billion in damage to housing and $6.3 billion in damage to the health sector.
The death toll is expected to rise further as more bodies are discovered that were not recovered during the Israeli attack.
The administrator of Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza told the AP that 45 bodies pulled from the rubble in Gaza City had arrived within the past 24 hours. An administrator, speaking on condition of anonymity for security reasons, said the bodies had been missing for several days to two weeks.
On the ground, a new security system is taking shape.
Trump’s Original 20 point plan It calls on Israel to maintain an unrestricted military presence within the Gaza Strip along its border with Israel. An international force made up mainly of troops from Arab and Islamic countries will take charge of security in the Gaza Strip, but it is unclear when.
The Israeli military said it would continue defensive operations from the roughly 50% of the Gaza Strip it still controlled after withdrawing to the agreed lines.
U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff told Israeli officials on Friday that the U.S. would establish a center in Israel to coordinate issues related to Gaza until a permanent government is established, according to a transcript of the meeting obtained by an attendee and obtained by The Associated Press. Another official, who was not authorized to speak to the media, also confirmed the reading.
The statement said there were no U.S. soldiers in the Gaza Strip, but there were people reporting to the U.S. and aircraft may fly over the strip for surveillance.
Another official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said the group, which includes the United States, Qatar, Egypt and other countries and organizations, would be part of the mission to locate and identify the hostage bodies, avoiding past problems with misidentifying bodies. It’s unclear whether the 200 U.S. troops coming to Israel are part of that group or a separate effort.
The war started Hamas-led militants invade Israel On October 7, 2023, approximately 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken hostage.
More than 67,000 Palestinians were killed in Gaza and nearly 170,000 were injured in subsequent Israeli attacks, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health. The Gaza Health Ministry does not distinguish between civilians and fighters, but says about half of the dead were women and children. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government, and the United Nations and many independent experts consider its figures to be the most reliable estimates of wartime casualties.
The war has also sparked other conflicts in the region, sparked protests around the world, and suspicion of genocide Israel denies it.
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Metz reported from Jerusalem, El Deeb from Beirut, Lebanon, and Mednik from Tel Aviv, Israel. Associated Press writer Salih Abu Aljood in Beirut, Lebanon, contributed to this report.
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