‘All we see is destruction’: Palestinians pulling bodies from the rubble of Gaza fear the fragile ceasefire will not last

As the dust settles on what remains of the Gaza Strip, Palestinians are beginning the long road to recovering what is left of their lives.

Since the US-brokered ceasefire came into effect last week, thousands made the long journey north, many unable to recognise anything resembling their old neighbourhoods.

A prisoner-hostage exchange took place ahead of Donald Trump’s address to the Israeli Knesset on Monday, as the president celebrated his peace deal to rapturous applause.

At a gathering point in central Ramallah, relatives, supporters and members of the Palestinian security forces waited for news of the buses that would release 1,966 Palestinian detainees. The last 20 living Israeli hostages taken captive by Hamas during the October 7 attacks two years ago were also returned to their families.

"This is a very beautiful feeling - happy, a day of joy," a 50-year-old father, Muhammad Hasan Saeed Dawood, told the BBC. His son was arrested by Israeli forces at a checkpoint. "We call it a national holiday, that our detainees are being released despite the cost of the war, the martyrs, the injured, and the destruction in Gaza."

Amid the large crowds, Waseem Amar from Qalqiya waited for her father, arrested in 2003 on charges of killing a settler and sentenced to life in prison.

“I can’t describe the feelings, it’s like a dream. I can only believe it when I see him,” she told The Independent in tears. The family have had no information about him for over two years. Amar’s mother received a call that he was on his way from Ofer while she spoke.

“We hope to have a better life in the future with our father - a father is the pillar of any family. We hope and pray to God that this brings actual peace.”

Palestinian families told The Independent soldiers raided the homes of relatives on the eve of their release, warning them not to celebrate.

Overnight, Israeli ministers approved a final list of 1,718 Palestinians detained since 7 October 2023 – including women and 22 children – and 250 prisoners serving life sentences as part of the ceasefire deal.

Reuters reported that 154 will be deported. Israel is also due to hand over the bodies of 350 Palestinians they have been holding since 2023.

Among those likely to be deported and banned from seeing his family is Iyad Abu Al-Rub who was arrested on charges of killing Israeli soldiers in 2005 in Jenin.

His cousin Abdulrahman told The Independent that their family’s joy is therefore “incomplete”. They have not been permitted family visits to Iyad in prison since 2021.

Israel had been pressured to release high-profile prisoners including Marwan Barghouti, often dubbed the “Palestinian Mandela” as a mark of good faith. He consistently tops polls among Palestinians as the person they would vote to lead them as a nation. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refused to release Barghouti.

After months of reports of starvation and chaotic scenes at food aid points in Gaza, the situation appears to be improving, however slowly. Footage of aid being delivered was circulated over the weekend with some communal kitchens cooking mounds of food.

Reports suggest up to 600 aid trucks could be let in on a daily basis, which is still below what humanitarian agencies believe is adequate for the needs of the population. Some local businesses and markets reported drops in prices of between 70 and 80 per cent.

For Hamza Ibrahim, who is now 24-years-old, having first spoken to The Independent in 2023, the ceasefire is bittersweet. He left Gaza in the last few days to take up a scholarship in journalism in Ireland. His family all remain in the Strip and he is the first to have ever left the country.

Over 90 per cent of schools have been damaged or destroyed, according to Save the Children.

Now the bombing has stopped, his feelings are mixed. “My parents rang me when the ceasefire was announced,” he told The Independent. “They said: ‘You survived. We’re so proud of you.’”

For many though, grief is taking hold as thousands reflect on the horrors they’ve just been through.

“Even though people are happy, they also feel sad. They wonder: ‘Where shall we go? What if the ceasefire doesn’t last? All we can see is destruction.’ I feel like I have left hell and am entering into a heaven. I can see what I’ve been through from the outside and am realising how bad it was. Gaza is like a prison. There is no food, no water, no electricity.”

Over 92 per cent of homes have been destroyed in Gaza, according to the Palestinian Authority, and only 14 hospitals remained somewhat functioning out of the 36 at the start of the war (62 per cent have been destroyed). At least 1.9 million people, or at least 90 per cent of the population has been displaced.

Palestinian health authorities say over 68,000 people have been killed, with 83 per cent of those civilians according to IDF data revealed by The Guardian. Research by the British Medical Journal showed that civilians endured injuries worse than combatants in Iraq and Afghanistan.

At least 250 bodies have been recovered among the rubble since the ceasefire was implemented, the number is expected to increase dramatically. Locals reported their children have been sleeping through the night for the first time as they are not disturbed by strikes, drones and explosions.

But clashes have already broken out among factions in Gaza, some backed by the Israeli occupation according to sources. A 28-year-old journalist, Saleh Al-Jafarawi, and 26 others were killed in the fighting that broke out after the ceasefire.

Among the relief and inevitably endless grief, there is also deep suspicion, particularly for those based in the West Bank.

Issa Amro, a Palestinian activist featured in Louis Theroux’s The Settlers documentary, said that many Palestinians are deeply uncertain about the future of the region.

“It’s very important that the killing has stopped,” he told The Independent. “But we are deeply suspicious about whether this will last. Whether Israel will respect the agreement. They have broken every one so far. The genocide is not over. People are still dying due to lack of food and medicine.”

And now, there are serious fears for the West Bank. “When the war ends in Gaza, it begins in the West Bank,” he said. “Remember, this is a ceasefire plan, not a peace plan.”

He also reiterated the importance of “accountability” for what took place in Gaza – many organisations have accused Israel of war crimes, which they deny.

An arrest warrant for Netanyahu was issued by the International Criminal Court alleging he and his former Defence Minister Yoav Gollant had committed the war crime of starvation.

A two-year investigation by the United Nations concluded that Israel is committing a genocide, claims that Israel has called “false and distorted”.

One UN report suggested it could take up to 350 years for Gaza to return to its pre-2023 economy, and it could take decades just to clear the over 50 million tonnes of rubble left in the devastation.