As the fragile truce between Israel and Hamas entered its third day, the residents of Gaza continued to return. Many found their houses and businesses destroyed by Israeli bombardments or soldiers who had occupied their homes. Despite this, Hamas held ‘’victory’’ rallies to coincide with the visit of Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary General, urging him and western powers to end their boycott of Hamas.
Life amid the ruins
January 20, 2009
Palestinians riding donkey carts return home at sunrise to the flattened neighourhood of Ezbet Abdrabbo in the Jabalya refugee camp, north of Gaza City.
January 20, 2009
Palestinians share breakfast amongst the rubble of their homes in Ezbet Abdrabbo, north of Gaza City.
January 20, 2009
Mahmoud Kassab shows the damage caused to his family's house when Israeli soldiers occupied it for two weeks during the ground invasion.
January 20, 2009
The Israeli soldiers left graffiti and piles of human waste behind in the house. Furniture was heaped together and personal items, such as photos and the family's copy of the Koran, were destroyed. This was the second time the Kassab's house had been taken over in such a way.
January 20, 2009
The Israeli soldiers made holes in the walls of the Kassab family's house to use as sniper positions.
January 20, 2009
Anam el-Bahtety tries to salvage items from her house in Zeitoun, northern Gaza, which was bulldozed during the Israeli ground invasion. 14 family members used to live in the house, which was only 18 months old.
January 20, 2009
Mohammad Ramadan al-Ashi sits in front of his destroyed metals factory. It was the second factory he lost, having already seen his first plant, in Nezarim, destroyed in 2000. He says he won't bother to build a third.
January 20, 2009
Palestinian women riding a donkey cart drive past a rubbish dump in Beit Lahia in the Gaza Strip. Rubbish has started to pile up in the streets as municipality services are still not available.
January 20, 2009
The remains of a police station in Gaza City that was bombed early in the invasion. A huge crater, and several charred cars, remain.
January 20, 2009
The parliament building, bombed when it was run by Fatah in 2000, was attacked again in this invasion, this time targeting Hamas.
January 20, 2009
A boy sells produce on the kerbside, as Gaza City returns to a semblance of normality.
January 20, 2009
Mosleh Sakallah stands in his destroyed autoparts factory in the Zeitoun area north of Gaza City. The F16 airstrike also claimed his house, behind the factory. It was the second time his factory had been destroyed by Israeli fire.
January 20, 2009
Yusuf Tafish lost his job when the granite factory in Zeitoun where he worked was destroyed by an Israeli airstrike. He says, God willing, he will find another job, although he knows it will be difficult.
January 20, 2009
An orange orchard in Zeitoun, laid waste by the Israeli invasion. The Gaza Strip produced 250,000 tonnes of citrus fruit a year in 2000. Now, largely as a result of Israeli destruction, it produces just 30,000.
January 20, 2009
The road to the Eres crossing, which used to be a main transit point with Israel, remains firmly closed to all but a handful of Gazans seeking urgent medical treatment in Israel.
January 20, 2009
A boy joins his father at a Hamas supporters' rally in Gaza City.
January 20, 2009
Hamas supporters attend a rally in Gaza City.
January 20, 2009
Two Hamas supporters ride past the Parliament building destroyed during the Israeli strikes on Gaza City.
January 20, 2009
Hamas supporters hold the movement's flag as they stand on the rubble of the building hit by an Israeli strike which killed Said Siam, Hamas interior minister, during a rally in Jabalya, northern Gaza Strip.
