Humanitarian aid groups in Gaza report more than 3,200 aid trucks have entered the Palestinian territory in the first four days since the ceasefire agreement took effect. Civil defense workers have recovered the bodies of 162 people trapped under the rubble of destroyed homes and businesses and are working to uncover thousands more. Palestinian officials report Israel dropped around 100,000 metric tons of explosives on Gaza during its 15-month assault, destroying 88% of Gaza’s infrastructure.
About 20,000 children became orphans, losing one or both parents. More than 40% of families in Gaza are taking care of children who are not their own. On Wednesday, displaced Palestinian families returned to Gaza City, many for the first time in months, to find a ruined wasteland.
Safaa Dahdouh: “Our families will return from the south to their blessed land of Gaza City. However, they will not find their homes, as they were destroyed by the Zionist occupation. They will find tents that we set up to meet their simplest needs. These tents will welcome the displaced families, hoping to heal some of their pain after seeing their destroyed homes that have now turned into rubble, which used to be filled with families.”