After 15 months of war, the Israel-Hamas ceasefire agreement took place on January 19), 2025, but Gazans who cheered in celebration over the truce soon found their happiness overshadowed by a harsh reality when they returned to find their homes lying in ruins.

Jomaa Shadi was one of those who returned to inspect his home north of Nuseirat.

"The halting of the bloodshed is an indescribable feeling. I thank God that I survived this war safely. But when I returned to my home, I found nothing but destruction and ruin," he said.

Drone footage released by the United Nations on Sunday revealed vast destruction in the Safatawi area in northern Gaza as those displaced began returning to bombed-out neighbourhoods.

More than 47,000 Palestinians have since been killed in Israeli attacks, according to medical officials in Gaza. Nearly the entire 2.3 million population of Gaza is homeless. Around 400 Israeli soldiers have also died.

The truce calls for fighting to stop, aid to be sent into Gaza and 33 of the nearly 100 remaining Israeli and foreign hostages to go free over the six-week first phase in return for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. Many of the hostages are believed to be dead.

(Production: Vinaya K, Ariel Wee, Mahmoud Al-Basos, Hamuda Hassan, Heba Fouad)