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Palestinian resistance movement Hamas freed the last living Israeli hostages from Gaza Monday under a ceasefire deal and Israel sent home busloads of Palestinian detainees, as US President Donald Trump told Israel's parliament that peace had arrived in the Middle East. The Israeli military said it had received all 20 hostages confirmed to be alive, after their transfer from Gaza by the Red Cross. The announcement prompted cheering, hugging and weeping among thousands waiting at "Hostage Square" in Tel Aviv. In Gaza, thousands of relatives, many weeping with joy, gathered at a hospital where buses brought home some of the nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees to be freed by Israel as part of the accord. "The skies are calm, the guns are silent, the sirens are still and the sun rises on a Holy Land that is finally at peace," Trump told the Knesset, Israel's parliament, saying a "long nightmare" for both Israelis and Palestinians was over. He later left for a summit in Egypt intended to cement the truce. The US, along with Egypt, Qatar and Turkiye, mediated what has been described as a first phase agreement between Israel and Hamas for a ceasefire and the release of hostages by Hamas and prisoners and detainees by Israel. Trump arrived in the Egyptian beach resort of Sharm el-Sheikh about an hour before sundown for the gathering of more than 20 world leaders, which he was to chair alongside President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. At the opening of the summit, Trump signed a document on the ceasefire deal with Egypt, Qatar and Turkiye. The ceasefire and partial Israeli withdrawal agreed last week halted one of Israel's biggest offensives of the war, an all-out assault on Gaza City that was killing scores of people per day. Since then, huge numbers of Palestinians have been able to return to the ruins of homes in the Gaza Strip, swathes of which were reduced to a wasteland by Israeli bombardment that killed 68,000 people. Among the immediate issues still to be resolved: recovering the remains of another 26 Israeli hostages believed to have died and two whose fates are unknown. Hamas says recovering the bodies could take time as not all burial sites are known. It handed over four bodies Monday. Aid supplies must be rushed into the enclave, where hundreds of thousands of people face famine. UN aid chief Tom Fletcher underlined the need to "get shelter and fuel to people who desperately need it and to massively scale up the food and medicine and other supplies going in". Beyond that, crucial issues have yet to be resolved, including how to govern and police Gaza, and the ultimate future of Hamas, which still rejects Israel's demands to disarm. Video footage captured emotional scenes of Israeli families receiving phone messages from their loved ones as they were being released, their faces lighting up with disbelief and hope after months of anguish. Palestinians meanwhile rushed to embrace prisoners freed by Israel. Several thousand gathered inside and around Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis in southern Gaza, some waving Palestinian flags, others holding photos of their relatives. "I am happy for our sons who are being freed, but we are still in pain for all those who have been killed by the occupation, and all the destruction that happened to our Gaza," a Gaza woman, Um Ahmed, told Reuters in a tearful voice message. Freed prisoners arrived in buses, some of them posing from the windows, flashing V-for-Victory signs. Israel was due to release 1,700 detainees it captured in Gaza, as well as 250 prisoners from its jails convicted or suspected of security offences. Samer Halabeya, a doctor freed from jail where he was serving a sentence for planning an attack that wounded an Israeli officer, stood by his weeping mother in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank. "We hope that everyone gets freed," he said.

The bodies of four Israeli hostages who died in captivity in Gaza were handed over to the Red Cross by Hamas on Monday."The Red Cross has received two coffins of deceased hostages and are on their way to IDF and ISA forces in the Gaza Strip, where the two additional coffins of deceased hostages, that were received earlier, are located," the military said.Earlier on Monday, Hamas freed all 20 surviving hostages it had been holding since October 7, 2023, as part of a ceasefire agreement brokered by US President Donald Trump.In return, Israel released 1,968 prisoners and detainees, mostly Palestinians, the prison service said.Hamas still holds the remains of 24 deceased hostages, which it has agreed to return to Israel as part of the ceasefire deal."Hamas is required to uphold the agreement and take the necessary steps to return all the deceased hostages," the military said.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer affirmed his country's readiness to support the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip. "The UK stands ready to support rebuilding Gaza, and we will work with partners to secure a stable future for the region," Starmer posted on "X" platform upon his arrival in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. The Prime Minister added that he will meet with international leaders at the Sharm el-Sheikh Peace Summit to work on the first decisive step toward peace in the Middle East. The British Prime Minister's Office announced that the United Kingdom will host a three-day conference on Gaza recovery and reconstruction, bringing together a coalition of business, civil society, and government representatives to coordinate critical planning efforts for the post-war reconstruction of Gaza. The conference aims to address efforts to support the Palestinian Authority's transformation and reform program, ensuring its ability to lead recovery efforts in Gaza, where reconstruction will be Palestinian-led. The conference will be attended by a number of international partners, including Germany, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and the Palestinian Authority, in addition to the private sector and international financing institutions, such as the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the World Bank.

US President Donald Trump headed on a high high-stakes trip to Israel and Egypt Sunday, after saying it would be a "very special" moment for efforts to end the Gaza war.Air Force One took off from Joint Base Andrews near Washington in light rain, AFP reporters said. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and CIA chief John Ratcliffe were also on the plane, the White House said.

More than 20 world leaders to attendMediators to ink guarantee documentCaptives, prisoners to be freed MondayA Gaza ceasefire was holding for a third day Sunday, ahead of a proposed hostage-prisoner exchange and a summit aimed at charting a path to peace after two years of war.US President Donald Trump is among the more than 20 world leaders expected in Egypt's Red Sea resort town of Sharm El-Sheikh Monday for the Gaza peace summit co-hosted by his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. But neither Israel or Hamas will attend.Among those expected to attend are UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Jordan's King Abdullah II, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan.Trump is due to arrive in Israel Monday to address the Knesset, the parliament, before traveling to Sharm El Sheikh for the summit.Egypt has said 21 nations will take part, with representation also expected from the EU and Arab League, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Pakistan, Indonesia, India and Germany, among others.Iran also said it received an invitation, but did not indicate whether it would attend.The mediating nations for the ceasefire deal in Gaza are to sign a document guaranteeing the agreement at the summit, a diplomatic source said."The signatories will be the guarantors -- (the) US, Egypt, Qatar and likely Turkiye," the diplomat said, after the Egyptian foreign ministry earlier said a document ending the war in Gaza was expected to be signed during the gathering.Israel expects all hostages held in Gaza to be freed early Monday, a spokeswoman for the prime minister's office said, adding that all surviving captives are to be released simultaneously."The living hostages are to be released together at one time to the Red Cross and transported among six to eight vehicles," Shosh Bedrosian told journalists.The initial stage of the ceasefire deal includes the release of 48 Israeli hostages in exchange for 250 Palestinian prisoners and 1,700 Gazans held by Israel since the war broke out.An Israeli official said the Palestinian prisoners would be "released once Israel has confirmation that all of our hostages are across the border into Israel".A Hamas source close to the group's negotiating committee told AFP Sunday that it would not participate in governing post-war Gaza.More than 200 trucks carrying aid destined for Gaza, including six diesel fuel trucks and five carrying cooking gas, were unloaded Sunday at the Kerem Shalom crossing with the Palestinian territory.Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians poured back into a shattered Gaza City after the guns fell silent.

A ceasefire between Israel and Hamas held in Gaza for a third day on Sunday ahead of the expected release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners and the Gaza peace summit in Cairo. Thousands of Palestinians continued to travel north towards Gaza City, the focus of Israeli attacks over the past two months, hopeful the ceasefire would bring an end to the war. "There is a lot of joy among the people," said Abdou Abu Seada, adding that the joy was tempered by exhaustion after two years of war that has destroyed much of Gaza. Government spokesperson Shosh Bedrosian said that Israel expected the hostages to start being released early Monday morning with the 20 living hostages to be released together. In the event that hostages were released earlier, Israel was ready to receive them, she said. Their release is to be followed later by the handover of bodies of the remaining 28 deceased hostages. Hamas will release its remaining hostages on Monday and will play no role in Gaza's future government, the group told AFP, as US President Donald Trump and other world leaders prepared to convene in Egypt for a major peace summit. Trump will first pass through Israel, addressing parliament and meeting with hostage families Monday before heading to Egypt's Sharm El-Sheikh for the summit, where a "document ending the war in the Gaza Strip" is expected to be signed, according to Cairo's foreign ministry. As anxious but relieved Israeli families counted down the hours until their loved ones' return, desperate Palestinians picked through the ruins of their homes in Gaza City and aid trucks queued to deliver badly needed supplies. The third day of the ceasefire saw some aid trucks cross into Gaza, but residents in Khan Yunis, in the south of the Strip, said some shipments were being ransacked by starving residents in chaotic scenes. "We don't want to live in a jungle. We demand aid be secured and respectfully distributed," said Mohammed Zarab. "Look at how the food is lying on the ground. Look! People and cars are trampling it." For Mahmud al-Muzain, another bystander, the seizure of the aid parcels showed that Gaza did not trust that the US-led negotiations would lead to a long-term peace. "Everyone fears the war will return. People steal the aid and store it in their homes," he told AFP. "We stockpile food out of fear and worry that the war will come back." Any optimism that 38-year-old Fatima Salem might have felt when Israeli forces withdrew from her neighbourhood in Gaza City was shattered when she returned home to find it gone. "I returned to Sheikh Radwan with my heart trembling," she told AFP. "My eyes kept searching for landmarks I had lost -- nothing looked the same, even the neighbours' houses were gone. "Despite the exhaustion and fear, I felt like I was coming back to my safe place. I missed the smell of my home, even if it's now just rubble. We will pitch a tent next to it and wait for reconstruction." The Israel Prison Service said it had transferred some Palestinian prisoners to other facilities ahead of their expected release. The Israeli Ministry of Justice has released the names of 250 Palestinians, convicted of murder and other serious crimes, who are to be freed under the deal. The list does not include senior Hamas commanders that the Islamist militant group had sought to free, or prominent figures from other factions such as Marwan Al Barghouti or Ahmed Saadat. Although that was not expected to derail the agreement, Hamas' prisoners information office said that talks with Israeli mediators over the list of prisoners to be freed were ongoing. Israel is also to release 1,700 Palestinians who have been detained in Gaza since October 7, 2023 and 22 Palestinian minors, along with the bodies of 360 militants. Israeli government spokesperson Bedrosian said the prisoners would be released once the living hostages reach Israeli territory. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said that once the hostages were returned, the military would destroy underground tunnels in Gaza built by Hamas. Palestinians returning to northern Gaza have described widespread devastation. Rescue workers warned there could be unexploded ordnance and bombs in the area. Amjad Al Shawa, who heads a Palestinian organisation coordinating with aid groups, estimated 300,000 tents were needed to temporarily house 1.5 million displaced Gazans. "We couldn't believe the destruction we have seen," Rami Mohammad-Ali, 37, said by phone after walking 15 km with his son from Deir Al Balah to Gaza City. Israelis were looking forward keenly to Monday, when Hamas is expected to release its remaining 48 hostages, living and dead. Late Saturday, massive crowds gathered in Tel Aviv to support hostage families and cheer Trump's peace envoy, Steve Witkoff. Thousands packed "Hostage Square" -- the scene of many protests and vigils during the two years since Hamas's unprecedented October 7, 2023 attacks triggered the latest war -- chanting "Thank you Trump!". "My emotions are immense, there are no words to describe them -- for me, for us, for all of Israel, which wants the hostages home and waits to see them all return," said Einav Zangauker, mother of 25-year-old hostage Matan Zangauker. Hamas will free the captives, 20 of whom Israel believes are still alive, in exchange for nearly 2,000 prisoners held in Israeli jails. "According to the signed agreement, the prisoner exchange is set to begin on Monday morning," Hamas official Osama Hamdan told AFP in an interview. After Trump's visit to Israel on Monday, he and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will chair a summit of leaders from more than 20 countries in the Red Sea resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh, the Egyptian presidency announced. The meeting will aim "to end the war in the Gaza Strip, enhance efforts to achieve peace and stability in the Middle East, and usher in a new era of regional security", it said. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said he will attend, as has Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer, his counterparts from Italy and Spain, Giorgia Meloni and Pedro Sanchez, and French President Emmanuel Macron. Hamas and Israel are not expected to take part. Despite the apparent breakthrough, mediators still have the tricky task of securing a longer-term political solution that will see Hamas hand over its weapons and step aside from running Gaza. A Hamas source close to the group's negotiating committee told AFP on Sunday that it would not participate in post-war Gaza governance. "Hamas will not participate at all in the transitional phase, which means it has relinquished control of the Strip, but it remains a fundamental part of the Palestinian fabric," the source said, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters. But the official pushed back on calls for Hamas to lay down its weapons. "Hamas agrees to a long-term truce, and for its weapons not to be used at all during this period, except in the event of an Israeli attack on Gaza," the source said. Under the Trump plan, as Israel conducts a phased withdrawal from Gaza's cities, it will be replaced by a multi-national force from Egypt, Qatar, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, coordinated by a US-led command centre in Israel. Israel's campaign in Gaza has killed at least 67,682 people, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory, figures the United Nations considers credible.

The United States and Egypt's top diplomats reviewed preparations for a summit in Sharm El-Sheikh that will bring the two countries' presidents together with other leaders to discuss implementing the first phase of a Gaza ceasefire deal, likely Monday.US President Donald Trump and his Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah al-Sisi are expected to lead the summit, Egypt's Foreign Ministry said in a statement Saturday.Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday discussed arrangements for the gathering, including for "international participation in the Sharm El-Sheikh summit, as well as preparations for the implementation of the first phase of the (ceasefire) deal".Alongside the US and Qatar, Egypt has played a key role in mediating talks that eventually led to the latest ceasefire deal.French President Emmanuel Macron is set to travel to Egypt on Monday to back the deal, the Elysee Palace said, while Spain's Pedro Sanchez and Italy's Giorgia Meloni are also expected to attend.Earlier Trump had said he would meet a "lot of leaders" in Egypt on Monday to discuss the future of devastated Gaza.Israel has agreed to the truce plan put forward by Trump, and on Friday pulled troops back from several areas of Gaza, setting the clock in motion for hostages held by Hamas to be released within 72 hours.The head of the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said Saturday he visited Gaza to discuss post-conflict stabilization and insisted no US troops will be deployed to the Palestinian territory.Admiral Brad Cooper wrote on X that he just returned from a trip to Gaza to discuss creation of a CENTCOM-led "civil-military coordination center" which will "support conflict stabilization."Meanwhile, Israel has begun transferring prisoners to two jails ahead of their release as part of the Gaza ceasefire deal.Under the truce deal Israel is supposed to release 250 prisoners, including some serving life sentences. In exchange, Hamas has until Monday to hand over its 48 remaining Israeli hostages -- living and dead.

Israeli forces redeployedHostages to be released by Monday noonQuestions remain about Trump's planTrump expected to travel to Israel, EgyptThousands of Palestinians streamed north along the coast of Gaza on Saturday, trekking by foot, car and cart back to their abandoned homes as a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas appeared to be holding.Israeli troops pulled back under the first phase of a US-brokered agreement reached this week to end the war, which has killed tens of thousands of people and left much of the enclave in ruins.**media[367309]**"It is an indescribable feeling; praise be to God," said Nabila Basal as she travelled by foot with her daughter, who she said had suffered a head wound in the war. "We are very, very happy that the war has stopped, and the suffering has ended."US President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff was in Gaza early Saturday to observe the Israeli military redeployment, Israeli Army Radio reported, citing a security source.**media[367311]**He was joined by the head of the US military's Central Command (CENTCOM), Admiral Brad Cooper, who said in a statement that his visit was part of the establishment of a task force that would support stabilisation efforts in Gaza, though US troops would not be deployed inside the enclave.Once the Israeli forces had completed their redeployment on Friday, which keeps them out of major urban areas but still in control of roughly half the enclave, the clock began ticking for Hamas to release its hostages within 72 hours."We are very excited, waiting for our son and for all the 48 hostages," said Hagai Angrest, whose son Matan is among the 20 Israeli hostages believed to still be alive. "We are waiting for the phone call."**media[367310]**Twenty-six hostages have been declared dead in absentia and the fate of two more is unknown.According to the agreement, after the hostages are handed over, Israel will free 250 Palestinians serving long sentences in its prisons and 1,700 detainees captured during the war.Hundreds of trucks per day are expected to surge into Gaza carrying food and medical aid, according to the agreement.**media[367307]**But questions remain about whether the ceasefire and hostage-prisoner exchange deal, the biggest step yet towards ending two years of war, will lead to a lasting peace under Trump's 20-point plan.Much could still go wrong. Further steps in Trump's plan have yet to be agreed.These include how the demolished Gaza Strip is to be ruled when fighting ends, and the ultimate fate of Hamas, which has rejected Israel's demands it disarm.Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump expressed confidence the ceasefire would hold, saying: "They're all tired of the fighting." He said he believed there was a "consensus" on the next steps but acknowledged some details still have to be worked out.**media[367306]**Israelis and Palestinians alike rejoiced after the deal was announced to end a war in which more than 67,000 Palestinians have been killed, mostly civilians, and to return the last hostages seized by Hamas.Trump is expected to visit the region on Monday and address the Knesset, Israel's parliament, the first US president to do so since George W. Bush in 2008.Trump said he would also travel to Egypt and that other world leaders were expected to be present.

International agencies were preparing Saturday to pour aid into Gaza, hopeful a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas will allow them to put an end to the famine haunting parts of the territory.But optimism was marked with caution.The fragile truce could open access, but aid agencies fear Israel may continue to impose restrictions on access under US President Donald Trump's plan.Logistical hurdles are far from the mind of displaced father Marwan al-Madhun.The 34-year-old just wants to know when the trucks will arrive."My children are mainly happy to know that meat and chicken will arrive at last," he told AFP in central Gaza, as tens of thousands of Palestinians started to walk back to homes destroyed during fighting in the north."It's been two years that they've been deprived," he said. "At last, the crossing points will open!"On August 22, the United Nations declared a famine in Gaza, the first in the Middle East, after experts warned 500,000 people faced a "catastrophic" threat.Israel has accused Hamas of manufacturing a crisis and stealing aid.Now, the United Nations Office for Humanitarian Affairs says Israel has approved delivery of 170,000 tonnes of aid under a response plan for the first 60 days of truce."The most basic necessities are still urgently needed in Gaza: medical equipment, medicines, food, water, fuel, and adequate shelter for two million people who will face the approaching winter without a roof over their heads," said Jacob Granger, Gaza coordinator for Doctors Without Borders.Representatives of Granger's organisation, the World Food Programme and the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) said they were ready to step up shipments, but much remains unclear."The difficulty we have now is questions of access," said Antoine Renard, WFP director in the Palestinian territories, speaking from Deir el-Balah in central Gaza.The WFP, which leads the group of organisations handling food security, has begun discussions with COGAT, the Israeli defence ministry agency for civilian affairs in the territories.On Friday, empty WFP trucks were seen leaving Khan Yunis in southern Gaza and heading to the Kerem Shalom crossing to be loaded with food aid for distribution inside Gaza.The Trump plan foresees a return to the UN-led aid system in place before January 2025, when Israel sealed Gaza's borders and a private US-led operation took over aid distribution."But the conditions on the ground are different," Renard said.Since Israel's latest offensive into the cities in the north of Gaza last month, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have been driven from the homes -- many of which were destroyed -- into central and southern Gaza.This has shifted pressure for food aid into a now overcrowded area whose original residents were already struggling.The Trump plan states "full aid will be immediately sent to the Gaza Strip" as soon as the agreement comes into effect, "without interference from either party."Several humanitarian sources expressed optimism, despite concerns about security and registration procedures, on which Israel has yet to provide guidance."We are pushing different embassies and donors to speak to the Israeli authorities on their end, because we need, for example, trucks that can make round trips to the distribution platforms without facing constraints on the Israeli side," an official from a medical agency told AFP.Since spring, most of the aid on which Palestinian civilians depend has been supplied by the private Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.The UN Human Rights Office says GHF operations -- supported by the United States and Israel -- have seen 1,000 people killed near distribution sites.Several aid officials told AFP they were not involved in planning for the ceasefire."We don't have a lot of visibility on what exactly has been agreed on yet, but we will do everything we can," said Shaina Low, NRC spokeswoman."Humanitarian aid should never be subject to negotiation -- it's a fundamental right for people in need," she argued."The fact that it's tied to a ceasefire deal is problematic, as it should not be used as a bargaining chip -- just as the hostages never should have been."

HE the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani received a phone call Friday from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. During the call, they discussed developments in the Gaza Strip and the occupied Palestinian territories in light of the agreement on provisions and mechanisms for implementing the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire agreement and means to ensure its full implementation.HE the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs stressed that the success of the first phase of the agreement is a collective responsibility to ensure its implementation and achieve peace and stability in the region. He also affirmed that Qatar will spare no effort in fulfilling its humanitarian, historical, and diplomatic duty towards the Palestinians.For his part, the UN Secretary-General appreciated the pivotal diplomatic role played by Qatar in facilitating the negotiations and its tireless efforts that contributed to reaching the agreement.

US President Donald Trump plans to convene world leaders for a summit on Gaza during his visit to Egypt next week, Axios reported on Friday, citing four sources with knowledge of the matter.Among those expected to participate are representatives from Qatar, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Indonesia, Axios said, citing the sources.

Mixed emotions as Gazans cheer US-brokered truce deal but face wreckage of pre-war lives'Okay, it is over - then what? There is no home I can go back to,' says displaced mother of five'We are happy just to return to where our homes were. That, too, is a great joy,' says displaced Gaza manAs thousands of Gazans began picking through the ruins of their shattered homes on Friday after a ceasefire deal, the excitement of return was quickly tempered by shock at the depth of the destruction and anxiety over the hardships ahead.The announcement that the US-brokered accord had gone into effect sent thousands of Palestinians pouring up the Gaza Strip's coastal road by foot, bicycle, truck and donkey cart toward the largely devastated north.Essentially all of Gaza's 2.2 million population was displaced during two years of unrelenting war that has killed tens of thousands of people and reduced huge swathes of the enclave to ruins.For some, the prospect of returning even to the remnants of their former houses was enough to inspire elation."Of course, there are no homes - they've been destroyed - but we are happy just to return to where our homes were, even over the rubble," Mahdi Saqla, 40, said as he stood by a makeshift tent in central Gaza. "That, too, is a great joy."Trudging along the road along with her family, former Gaza City resident Mahira al-Ashi said she was so excited to return to the city where she'd grown up that she couldn't sleep as she waited for news about when they could start moving."By God, when they opened the road, I was so happy to go back," she said.But for many of those who have already returned, the stark reality of the situation quickly sank in.To the south, in the city of Khan Younis, Ahmed al-Brim pushed a bicycle loaded with wood through a scene of apocalyptic destruction - row after row of buildings crumpled by bombardment and streets strewn with rubble."We went to our area - it was exterminated," he said, waving a hand through the air. "We don't know where we will go after that."Another Khan Younis resident, Muhannad al-Shawaf, said it used to take him three minutes to reach a nearby street from his house. Now, took over an hour as he picked his way through piles of debris."The destruction is huge and indescribable - indescribable," he said. "It is almost all in ruins and not suitable for living in."Despite the widespread celebrations that greeted news of the ceasefire, many Palestinians were keenly aware even before going back that little remained of the lives they knew before the war."Okay, it is over - then what? There is no home I can go back to," Balqees, a mother of five from Gaza City who has been sheltering in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza, told Reuters on Friday morning."They have destroyed everything. Tens of thousands of people are dead, the Gaza Strip is in ruins, and they made a ceasefire. Am I supposed to be happy? No, I am not."Her sentiments were echoed by Mustafa Ibrahim, an activist and human rights advocate from Gaza City who also took refuge in Deir al-Balah, one of the few areas in the enclave not overrun and levelled by Israeli forces."Laughter has vanished and tears have run dry," he said. "The people of Gaza are lost, as if they are the walking dead, searching for a distant future."Some former Gaza City residents had already started heading back even before the ceasefire went into effect, some making it as far as the northwest suburb of Sheikh Radwan.Among them was Ismail Zayda, a 40-year-old father of three, who went to check on his house on Friday morning and was amazed to find it still intact - albeit amid a "sea of rubble"."Thank God, my house is still standing," he told Reuters in a voice note. "But the area is destroyed, my neighbours' houses are destroyed - entire districts are gone."