At dawn on Friday November 24, when the Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip came to a halt after 49 days of bombardment, and the drone of the drones in the sky fell silent, tens of thousands of displaced persons in the south of the enclave took to the roads of the center and north of the territory. For some, it was a question of returning to their neighborhoods to check on those who had been unable or unwilling to flee, the state of their homes or to try and find their belongings among the ruins. For others, it was a question of burying their loved ones.

"It's a relief. There's absolute calm in the streets, there's no more sound of bombing," testified Rafah Ali (he gave only his first name), an ambulance driver from Gaza City who has been displaced twice in the south since the start of the war, triggered on October 7 by the Hamas attack on the Jewish state. "It's like a return to life, but we're afraid it'll start again in four days [the duration of the truce so far negotiated]. It's a mixture of joy and sadness, as many people are looking first and foremost to recover the bodies of their loved ones for burial."

Their journey was once again perilous. Shortly before the truce came into effect, Israeli aircraft were dropping leaflets reminding that "the war is not over." "A return to the north is forbidden and very dangerous. Your safety and that of your families is in your hands." Around midday, at least two people had been killed and a number wounded by gunfire from Israeli positions in the Tal Al-Hawa neighborhood. These two new deaths add to the 14,854 people, including 6,150 children, who have perished under Israeli bombardment, according to the Palestinian enclave's Ministry of Health.

In Khan Yunis, in the south of the country, journalist Ayman Algedi was also appalled to see the desolation of part of the city: "It's a level of absolute destruction. We've been through four, five wars, but we've never seen so much destruction." In the images he filmed, shattered dwellings followed by smashed-up streets. One small consolation: A trickle of water was spotted escaping from a pipe leading out of a collapsed building. "We're so thirsty," he said, drinking with relief.

"I walked around Gaza City shortly after the truce began. The destruction is total. Houses, buildings, mosques, public gardens, schools, water pipes, electricity poles," wrote author Refaat Alareer. "I tried to reach the Al-Rantissi hospital, but there were two tanks. Surprisingly, there are no Israeli invaders at Al-Shifa Hospital. The tanks didn't stop shooting at people near Al-Rantissi and in Tal Al-Hawa. In Tal Al-Hawa, there are snipers near the Barcelona garden. They shot at someone approaching his house," he described.

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