Gaza rescuers are assessing the extent of the destruction

On the first full day of peace in Gaza on Monday, rescue workers and civilians began to consider the extent of the destruction on the Strip.

The Gaza Civil Defense agency – the strip's main emergency response service – said it feared more than 10,000 bodies were still buried under the huge sea of ​​debris.

Spokesman Mahmoud Basal told the BBC that they hoped to retrieve the dead within 100 days, but that they were likely to be delayed by a lack of spies and other essential equipment.

New images from Gaza after the cease-fire​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Sunday showed scenes of total destruction made in 15 months of Israeli aggression, especially in the northern part of the sea.

The UN has previously estimated that 60% of structures across Gaza have been damaged or destroyed.

Although the sounds of bombing were replaced by celebrations when the ceasefire began on Sunday, the reality facing people across Gaza remains dire.

According to the UN World Food Program (WFP), the war has left more than two million Gazans homeless, without income, and completely dependent on food aid for survival.

That aid began entering Gaza immediately after Sunday's ceasefire and the UN said at least 630 trucks had entered the Strip by the end of the day – the highest number since it began the war 15 months ago.

Sam Rose, acting director of Unrwa, the UN's Palestinian refugee agency in Gaza, said the aid provision was just the beginning of the challenge of reviving the strip.

“We're not just talking about food, health care, buildings, roads, infrastructure, we have individuals, families, communities that need to be rebuilt,” he said.

“The trauma they've gone through, the suffering, the loss, the grief, the humiliation and the cruelty they've endured over the last 16 months – it's a very long road this is going to be there. “

In Israel, the families of the three hostages freed in the first exchange spoke at a press conference in Tel Aviv on Monday evening. Mandy Damari, the mother of dual Israeli-British citizen Emily Damari, said Emily was in “high spirits” and “on the road to recovery” despite losing two fingers in a Hamas attack on October 7, 2023.

Meirav Leshem Gonen, Romi Gonen's mother, said: “We got our Romi back, but every family deserves the same outcome, both alive and dead. Our hearts go out to the other families .”

Ahead of the press conference, Israeli authorities released new footage showing Damari, 28, Gonen, 24, and Doron Steinbrecher, 31, greeting their mothers on Sunday just minutes after they were taken to – out of Gaza.

If the first phase of the ceasefire holds, 30 more hostages will be released from Gaza over the next 40 days in exchange for around 1,800 Palestinians freed from Israeli prisons.

Palestinian health authorities estimate that more than 46,900 people were killed in Gaza during more than 15 months of war and more than 110,700 were injured.

The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants but says that most of the dead are women and children – a claim supported by the UN.

A UK-led study published by the medical journal The Lancet this month suggested that health ministry figures may be underestimating the death toll by more than 40%.

The Gaza Civil Defense agency said in a statement on Monday that 48% of its own personnel had been killed, injured or detained during the conflict, and that 85% of its vehicles and 17 out of 21 facilities had been destroyed. to damage or destroy.

Although the threat of air strikes is gone, for now, the hard work continues for the remaining Civil Defense personnel. Pictures shared with the BBC by members of the group in northern Gaza on Monday showed them carrying out harrowing work, including the recovery of dead babies and human remains in poor condition .

“In every street there are dead. In every neighborhood there are people under the buildings,” said Abdullah Al-Majdalawi, a 24-year-old Civil Defense worker in Gaza City.

“Even after the break we received many calls from people saying please come, my family is buried under the rubble. “

Malaak Kasab, a 23-year-old recent graduate who was displaced from Gaza City, told the BBC on Monday that members of her own family were among those who had not yet been repatriated.

“We've lost a lot of family members and some are still under the destroyed buildings,” she said. “There's a lot of people under the rubble – everyone knows about this.”

Kasab's family home in an apartment complex was not completely destroyed, she said, but was badly damaged. “No doors, no windows, no water, no electricity, nothing. Not even wood to make a fire. It's not alive.”

Movement remains dangerous for displaced Gazans as the Israeli military begins the process of withdrawing from populated areas of the Strip.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has warned people not to approach its workers or installations, or enter a buffer zone it has created around the Gaza border and around the Netzarim corridor, which divides Gaza divides north from south.

But many residents were eager to see what was left of their homes sooner than they were told. Hatem Eliwah, a 42-year-old factory supervisor from Gaza City, said he was considering leaving his shelter in Khan Younis in the south.

“We have been waiting for this break like people waiting to enter heaven,” said Eliwah. “I lost two of my brothers and their families. I lost cousins, uncles. The only thing I still hope for is to go home.”

There are serious concerns on both sides that the deal could collapse even before the first phase is completed in about six weeks, and Israel has reiterated that it reserves the right to resume military action in Gaza at any time.

Speaking at a meeting of the UN Security Council on Monday, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed the agreement as a “wind of hope” and said that its obligations must be met.

But Guterres warned of a worsening situation in the West Bank, which has seen a sharp increase in Israeli settler attacks against Palestinian towns since the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas on Israel.

“Senior Israeli officials will be talking openly about officially annexing all or part of the West Bank in the coming months,” Guterres said, adding: “Such a addition is a serious violation of international law.”

Muath Al-Khatib contributed to this report