“The ceasefire that began yesterday has brought a fragile calm over the Gaza Strip,” Al Jazeera’s Tareq Abu Azzoum reports from Deir el-Balah, central Gaza.

Families have started to emerge from evacuation centres and are trying to visit their neighbourhoods to assess the damage inflicted, Azzoum said.

“They’re also looking for missing loved ones lost under the debris of destroyed houses. The truce has given Gaza’s people a chance to catch their breath after the intense period of attacks by Israel’s military,” he said.

“Despite this atmosphere of grief, there’s a glimmer of hope as humanitarian aid supplies continue to trickle in. Yesterday about 600 aid trucks entered Gaza carrying food, water, and medical supplies — offering a lifeline for those displaced, hungry and wounded.

“Emotions here are a mix of relief with the pause in the fighting, grief from the unbearable losses, and uncertainty about whether the ceasefire will continue.”