Overview

• The Israel–Hamas truce took effect at midday Friday, bringing a halt to airstrikes across the Strip.
• Thousands of residents were allowed to walk or drive back to devastated areas to search the rubble for possessions.
• Border crossings had not reopened as of Friday, aid remained limited, and early reconstruction talks lacked a clear plan or unified authority.
• Destruction is widespread with neighborhoods leveled, many families in tents, hospitals and schools disabled, and water and electricity networks broken.
• Observers caution that the pause will not end hunger, trauma or displacement, and accounts describe journalists killed and injured during the campaign, including one night in Khan Yunis with four deaths and nine injuries.