Hundreds of thousands continue to return on the second day of the ceasefire in Gaza.

Hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians continue to return to the city of Gaza and other areas, amidst tons of rubble and destruction left by the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip over the past two years.

Along the streets of Al-Rasheed and Salah al-Din, returning families walk on foot carrying their children and few belongings, and many of them find no homes to return to.

Palestinians have also managed to return to the center of Khan Younis in southern Gaza after Israeli military vehicles withdrew from the city center following the announcement of a ceasefire.

The mayor of Khan Younis stated that 85% of Khan Younis Governorate is destroyed, adding that 400,000 tons of rubble must be removed from the city's streets.

He continued that 300 kilometers of water networks in the city have been destroyed, and 75% of the sewage network in the city is also destroyed.

He also explained, "We have to deal with more than 350,000 tons of waste in the city," pointing to the urgent need for modern machinery to handle the rubble.

The military operation that lasted more than 5 months in Khan Younis caused unprecedented destruction to its buildings and commercial, health, and educational facilities.

The returnees emphasize their determination to stay on their land and not leave it despite the difficult and complex reality left by the Israeli war machine.

The Ministry of Interior in Gaza stated that police and security forces have been deployed in areas from which the occupation army has withdrawn to restore order and address the chaos that the occupation sought to spread.

The Ministry of Interior called on citizens to preserve public and private property and to cooperate and adhere to the directives and instructions that will be issued by the relevant authorities.

The mayor of Gaza, Yahya Al-Saraj, said that the priority at the moment is to prepare for the return of those coming from the southern part of the sector.

He explained in an interview with Al Jazeera that the resources are almost nonexistent to prepare the roads, confirming that the municipality is in contact with several parties to provide the necessary equipment as soon as possible.

Local authorities in Gaza City have begun to open roads in the city, as images showed bulldozers removing rubble and debris from one of the streets.

Such operations are expected to continue due to the extent of the destruction inflicted by Israeli forces on the infrastructure and housing in various areas of the Gaza Strip.

In this context, the Gaza government stated that it has completed more than 5,000 field, service, and humanitarian tasks within 24 hours as part of an emergency plan to gradually restore life to the sector.

The spokesperson for the Gaza municipality mentioned that the current priority is to secure water, open streets, collect waste, and address sewage problems.

Some displaced individuals expressed their cautious joy about this agreement, hoping it would contribute to a permanent end to the war, while hundreds of displaced people who reached their residential areas were forced to set up tents on the ruins of their homes after they were destroyed by the Israeli genocide.

The first phase of the ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel came into effect at 12:00 PM on Friday, Jerusalem time, after the Israeli government approved the agreement at dawn.

The Israeli army's withdrawals included Gaza City, except for the Shuja'iyya neighborhood and parts of the Al-Tuffah and Al-Zeitoun neighborhoods.

In Khan Younis, the army withdrew from central areas and parts of the east, while preventing Palestinians from entering the towns of Beit Hanoun and Beit Lahia and the city of Rafah.

The agreement is based on a plan proposed by U.S. President Donald Trump, which calls for ending the war, a gradual withdrawal of the Israeli army, mutual release of prisoners, immediate entry of aid into the sector, and disarmament of Hamas.

The approval of its first phase came after 4 days of indirect negotiations between the two parties at a resort in Sharm El-Sheikh, with the participation of Turkey, Egypt, and Qatar, and U.S. oversight.

With U.S. support, Israel has committed genocide in Gaza since October 8, 2023, for two years, resulting in at least 67,211 martyrs and 169,961 injured, most of whom are children and women.