While some Palestinians were able to dig up miscellaneous items deep under the rubble, many felt hopeless after dreaming about the possibility of returning to their homes and repairing or rebuilding them.

Aerial footage on Monday showed the devastation caused to the southern Gaza city of Rafah as Palestinians began returning to what was left of their homes. The truce between Israel and Hamas took hold on Sunday and has left skies above Gaza and Israel silent for the first time in over a year,

Celebrations erupted across Rafah as thousands of Palestinians began returning to the city after a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip took effect on Sunday.

Hundreds of people continue to return to their homes in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on the second day of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. However, the displaced are returning to a city almost completely devastated by Israeli attacks on the enclave over the past 15 months,