“Every street is dead”: Gaza rescue workers assess the extent of the destruction

Sam Rose, acting director of Unrwa, the UN’s Palestinian refugee agency in Gaza, said the aid deliveries were just the beginning of the challenge of rebuilding the strip.

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

“The trauma they’ve been through, the suffering, the loss, the grief, the abuse and the cruelty they’ve endured in the last 16 months – it’s going to be a very, very long road.”

The families of the three hostages released in the first exchange in Israel spoke at a press conference in Tel Aviv on Monday night. Mandy Damari, 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.

Romi Gönen’s mother, Meirav Leşem Gönen, said: “We got our Romi back, but all families deserve the same result, both the living and the dead. Our hearts go out to other families.”

Ahead of the press conference, Israeli authorities released new footage showing Damari, 28, Gönen, 24, and Doron Steinbrecher, 31, tearfully greeting their mothers moments after being pulled out of Gaza.

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