DaysofPal- On the third day of the ceasefire in Gaza, residents continued to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives, assessing the wreckage and mourning losses after 735 days of the Israeli genocidal war against Gaza.
Local sources reported that nearly half a million displaced residents returned to Gaza City on Saturday, where scenes of widespread devastation were visible across neighborhoods flattened by more than two years of bombardment.
Videos and eyewitness testimonies revealed vast stretches of destruction, with many families returning to find their homes reduced to rubble.
Civil defense teams have been working around the clock to recover bodies from beneath the debris, with more than 100 corpses pulled from the ruins during the first day of the ceasefire.
Medical facilities across the enclave have appealed urgently to the international community for medical aid and supplies, warning that hospitals are overwhelmed by the sheer number of wounded and sick patients.
Meanwhile, hundreds of aid trucks carrying food, fuel, and humanitarian assistance are preparing to enter the Strip through the Kerem Shalom and Nitzana (Al-‘Awja) crossings in southern Gaza.
At the political level, preparations are advancing for a prisoner exchange between Hamas and the Israeli occupation, expected to take place on Monday as part of the ceasefire deal brokered under U.S. mediation.
The agreement, which effectively ends the two-year war, includes the release of dozens of Palestinian prisoners from the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, along with about 250 inmates serving life sentences and around 1,700 detainees from Gaza captured after October 7, 2023.
Israel’s government formally approved the ceasefire and prisoner swap in the early hours of Friday morning, signaling the end of hostilities and the beginning of a fragile recovery period for Gaza’s war-weary population.
U.S. President Donald Trump announced the end of the war on Tuesday, declaring, “We have ended the war in Gaza, and I believe we are moving toward lasting peace.” He added that the release of the Israeli captives would begin on Monday or Tuesday.
As diplomatic efforts continue, attention now turns to the “Sharm El-Sheikh Peace Summit” scheduled for Monday in Egypt.
The summit, co-chaired by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and President Trump, will bring together more than 20 world leaders to discuss the Gaza ceasefire, the prisoner exchange, and plans for the Strip’s long-term reconstruction and stability.
For the people of Gaza, the ceasefire offers a momentary reprieve, a chance to mourn, rebuild, and hope that this fragile calm may finally mark the end of years of bloodshed.
Shortlink for this post: https://daysofpalestine.ps/?p=68364
