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.

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,

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denied reports on Wednesday that he allowed the Palestinian Authority to run the Rafah border crossing on the border between Gaza and Egypt. The border crossing is slated to open next week on day seven of a ceasefire agreement that halted Israel’s genocidal war on the Gaza Strip.

Israel will maintain control of the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza during the initial ceasefire phase with Hamas. The Palestinian Authority will not manage the crossing, and vetted Palestinians will stamp passports.