‘On every road there are dead’: Gaza rescuers assess scale of damage

The United Nations has previously estimated that 60% of buildings across Gaza have been damaged or destroyed.

Although the sound of bombs was replaced by celebrations as the cease-fire began on Sunday, the reality facing people across Gaza remains desperate.

According to the UN World Food Program (WFP), the war has left more than two million Gazans homeless, without income, and heavily dependent on food aid for survival.

The aid began entering Gaza immediately after a ceasefire on Sunday and the UN said at least 630 lorries had left the Strip days earlier – the highest number since the start of the war 15 months ago.

Sam Rose, acting director of Unrwa, the UN’s Palestinian refugee agency in Gaza, said the aid supply was just the beginning of the challenge of bringing the strip back to life.

“We are not only talking about food, health, buildings, roads, infrastructure, we have individuals, families, communities that need to be rebuilt,” he said.

“The trauma they’ve been through, the suffering, the loss, the grief, the humiliation, and the brutality they’ve endured over the past 16 months – this is going to be a very long road.”

In Israel, the families of the three hostages who were freed in the first exchange spoke at a press conference in Tel Aviv on Monday night. Mandy Damari, mother of two Israeli-British citizen Emily Damari, said that Emily is “in great spirits” and “on the road to recovery” despite losing two fingers in a Hamas attack on October 7, 2023.

Meirav Leshem Gonen, Romi Gonen’s mother, said: “We got Romi back, but the whole family deserves the same result, both the living and the dead. Our hearts go out to the other families.”

Before the press conference, Israeli authorities released new footage showing Damari, 28, Gonen, 24, and Doron Steinbrecher, 31 tearfully greeting their mother on Sunday just moments after being taken out of Gaza.

If the first phase of the ceasefire holds, 30 more hostages will be released from Gaza over the next 40 days in return for the roughly 1,800 Palestinians freed from Israeli prisons.