More than 200 thousand displaced Palestinians have begun flowing back to bombed out Gaza areas following the ceasefire, but the fragile, uncertain new beginnings are even more devastating than the terror of war itself, as all they can find are the ruins of their homes and no infrastructure that can sustain life.
Many of those venturing back are camping along the route of destruction, as they have on many occasions during the two year conflict, their hope no more than extending to the most basic of humanitarian assistance, with the UN promising that the Israel-Hamas agreement will allow much more substantial aid to reach them starting tomorrow.
Rebuilding in a flattened no infrastructure wasteland remains a distant dream during these early and crucial ceasefire days. It's more about maintaining the new reality on the ground.
The Israeli army has pushed back to where the treaty has envisaged, within strking distance, warning civilians not to approach the area where they have camped out, as they remain on standby. Hamas fighters are playing their own games, taking up positions in a number of strategic enclave points from which they had previously been forced to retreat, trying to send a message that they are asserting their own control.
Tel Aviv is preparing for the return-Monday 14th bein the likeliest day- of the 20 living hostages to be exchanged with 2 thousand Palestinian prisoners. And there's also the emotionally loaded issue of the hostages that have passed away. Hamas said it was still looking for possibly 28 Israelis, as most of them were kept in tunnels and constantly moved.
Meanwhile and crucially so in terms of the thorny Gaza status issue, the biggest Palestinian organisations in Gaza issued a joint statement late yesteerday, rejecting ant foreign monitoring in the area.
Donald Trump who missed out on the Nobel Peace Prize but seems to be taking it rather well, considering, appeared convinced that the ceasefire will hold. 'Yes it will, I think. They are all tired of fighting.'
Palestinian civilians are happy about the peace, but they know that there's a long way ahead to recovery and stability, if it lasts.
'I cannot describe it, it's the happiest day of our lives, the war is over', Ali Rihan told Al Jajeera.
'By God, I was so happy when they reopened the way and I was able to return. I couldn't sleep all night, my family is there', Mahira Al Asi, a young mother said.
In military terms, Israel are making clear that they are keeping a watchful eye for any Hamas moves that violate the agreement, with IDF spokesperson, Brigadier General Defrin noting that the troop readjustment map is not an exact picture of the situation on the ground, not giving much away.
'The IDF forces have deployed along the lines envisaged in the deal, based on the assessment of the situation and the analysis of all relevant parameters', he added.
Many of the Israeli positions are near the Israeli border, with a number of troops also near urban Gaza areas, as the yellow ceasefire line covers 53% of the enclave's territory.
The Israeli hostage release will take place through the Red Cross, away from the public eye Visiting the Jerusalem West Wall, Trump's Special Envoy Steve Witkoff said he was 'really happy about the peace and saving lives.'
An Israeli negotiating team remains at the Egyptian resort of Sharm El Sheikh to work out and finalise details of the deal, as an Israeli official told The Times of Israel.
The focus here, he noted, is the 2nd phase of the agreement, which includes the disarmement of Hamas and the future rule of Gaza.
On the humanitarian aspect, a UN official speaking on condition of anonymity said that the aid set to start reflowing tomorrow will include 170 thousand metric tonnes placed in Egypt and Jordan pending Israeli approval.
Medecins sans Frontieres stressed meanwhile that urgent surgeries and specialised medical assistance are a priority and permission should be given for its doctors to go through.
As to the explosive issue of foreign monitoring, its more likely that the observers will be Egyptian, according to Greek state television sources, the most traditional and neutral at this point of time and at least until Israeli troops maintain positions inside the enclave.
There will be a joint command centre, overseeing the work of a multinational force seeing to the Hamas disarmament, training Palestinian police and facilitating logistics until the Palestinians can fully take over.
Trump is expected in Cairo tomorrow and Israel on Monday, where he is expected to address the Knesset. He will also reportedly take part in the Sharm El Sheikh Gaza summit, aimed at garnering the widest possible support for the peace plan as post-war negotiations continue.
Palestinian officials urged the US President to visit Gaza and said they hoped that the agreement will lead to the establishment of a Palestinian state.
The Israeli PM is most possibly not going to attend the summit.