Palestinians return to ruins and U.S. troops land in Israel as Gaza ceasefire holds

Tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians returned to their Gaza neighborhoods Saturday, weaving done dust-shrouded streets arsenic bulldozers clawed done the wreckage of 2 years of warfare and a ceasefire held successful its 2nd day.

"Gaza is wholly destroyed. I person nary thought wherever we should unrecorded oregon wherever to go," said Mahmoud al-Shandoghli arsenic helium walked done Gaza City. A lad climbed a shattered gathering to rise the Palestinian flag.

About 200 U.S. troops arrived successful Israel to show the ceasefire with Hamas. They volition acceptable up a halfway to facilitate the travel of humanitarian assistance arsenic good arsenic logistical and information assistance. The caput of the U.S. military's Central Command said helium visited Gaza connected Saturday.

"This large effort volition beryllium achieved with nary U.S. boots connected the crushed successful Gaza," Adm. Brad Cooper said successful a statement.

Israel said U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner met with elder U.S. and Israeli subject officials successful Gaza connected Saturday.

Witkoff was acceptable to talk Saturday evening arsenic thousands of Israelis gathered successful Tel Aviv for a play rally that galore hoped would beryllium the last. Israel's subject has said the 48 hostages inactive successful Gaza would beryllium freed Monday. The authorities believes astir 20 stay alive.

People hugged and took selfies. Many waved U.S. flags. "It's a truly blessed time, but we cognize that determination are going to beryllium immoderate incredibly hard moments coming," said 1 idiosyncratic successful the crowd, Yaniv Peretz.

Aid groups urged Israel to reopen much crossings to let assistance into Gaza. A U.N. official, speaking connected information of anonymity to sermon details not yet public, said Israel has approved expanded assistance deliveries, starting Sunday.

The World Food Program said it was acceptable to reconstruct 145 nutrient organisation points crossed the famine-stricken territory, erstwhile Israel allows for expanded deliveries. Before Israel sealed disconnected Gaza successful March, U.N. agencies provided nutrient astatine 400 organisation points.

Though the timeline and however the nutrient volition participate Gaza stay unclear, the organisation points volition let Palestinians to entree nutrient astatine much locations than they could done the U.S.- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which had operated 4 locations since taking implicit organisation successful precocious May.

COGAT, the Israeli subject assemblage successful complaint of humanitarian aid, said much than 500 trucks entered Gaza connected Friday, though galore crossings stay closed. Some 170,000 metric tons of nutrient assistance person been positioned successful neighboring countries awaiting Israeli permission.

Israel besides is to escaped immoderate 250 Palestinians serving situation sentences, arsenic good arsenic astir 1,700 radical seized from Gaza the past 2 years and held without charge. The Israel Prison Service said prisoners person been transferred to deportation facilities astatine Ofer and Ktzi'ot prisons, "awaiting instructions from the governmental echelon."

Questions stay connected who volition govern Gaza aft Israeli troops gradually propulsion backmost and whether Hamas volition disarm, arsenic called for successful the ceasefire agreement.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who unilaterally ended the erstwhile ceasefire successful March, has suggested Israel could resume its violative if Hamas fails to disarm.

"If it's achieved the casual way, truthful beryllium it. If not, it volition beryllium achieved the hard way," Netanyahu said Friday, pledging that the adjacent signifier would bring Hamas' disarmament.

The standard of Gaza's demolition volition go clearer if the truce holds. More than 3 retired of each 4 buildings person been destroyed, the U.N. said successful September — a measurement of debris equivalent to 25 Eiffel Towers, overmuch of it apt toxic.

The decease toll is expected to emergence arsenic much bodies are recovered that couldn't beryllium retrieved during Israel's offensive.

A manager astatine bluish Gaza's Shifa Hospital told The Associated Press that 45 bodies pulled from the rubble successful Gaza City had arrived implicit the past 24 hours. The manager, speaking connected information of anonymity for information reasons, said the bodies had been missing for respective days to 2 weeks.

U.S. President Donald Trump's archetypal 20-point program calls for Israel to support an open-ended subject beingness wrong Gaza, on its borderline with Israel. An planetary force, mostly of troops from Arab and Muslim countries, would beryllium liable for information wrong Gaza, though the timeline is unclear.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi connected Saturday called for the Gaza deployment of an planetary unit authorized by the U.N. Security Council.

The Israeli subject has said it volition proceed to run defensively from the astir 50% of Gaza it inactive controls aft pulling backmost to agreed-upon lines.

Witkoff told Israeli officials connected Friday that the United States would found a halfway successful Israel to coordinate issues concerning Gaza until determination is simply a imperishable government, according to a readout of the gathering obtained by the AP. Another authoritative who was not authorized to talk to the media confirmed the readout's contents.

The readout said nary U.S. soldiers volition beryllium connected the crushed successful Gaza, but determination volition beryllium radical who study to the U.S. and craft mightiness show implicit the strip.

The warfare began erstwhile Hamas-led militants stormed into Israel connected Oct. 7, 2023, sidesplitting immoderate 1,200 radical and taking astir 250 hostage.

In Israel's ensuing offensive, much than 67,000 Palestinians person been killed successful Gaza, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which doesn't differentiate betwixt civilians and combatants but says astir fractional the deaths were women and children. The ministry is portion of the Hamas-run government, and the U.N. and galore autarkic experts see its figures to beryllium the astir reliable estimation of wartime casualties.

The warfare has besides triggered different conflicts successful the region, sparked worldwide protests and led to allegations of genocide that Israel denies.