On the dusty edge of the Gaza Strip, where rubble still chokes the streets and silence hangs heavier than smoke, the first trucks rolled through Rafah Sunday morning. Not tanks. Not bulldozers. Trucks loaded with medical supplies, tents, blankets, food, and fuel. After 730 days of war that killed more than 67,000 Palestinians and displaced 90% of Gaza’s 2 million residents, the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas has finally cracked open a door. And through it, hope cautious, fragile, but unmistakably real is beginning to seep in.
Israel’s COGAT authority confirmed that aid deliveries are ramping up to 600 trucks per day a stark contrast to recent months, when only 20% of needed humanitarian supplies reached Gaza due to border closures and military restrictions. Egypt dispatched 400 of those trucks Sunday alone, each undergoing inspection at Kerem Shalom before entering the enclave. The United Nations stands ready with 170,000 metric tons of pre-positioned aid. “This is the scale required not just to feed people,” said a senior U.N. logistics officer, “but to prevent total societal collapse.” For families who’ve survived on flour and rainwater, these convoys aren’t charity they’re survival.
Yet even as new aid arrives, the remnants of the old system are vanishing. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation the U.S.- and Israeli-backed contractor that replaced U.N. operations in May has effectively dissolved. Its distribution sites in Rafah, Khan Younis, and Nuseirat have been dismantled by locals scavenging wood and metal. Palestinians like Hoda Goda recalled chaotic, deadly scenes at those sites, where hundreds were shot by Israeli forces amid stampedes. “They promised order,” said Ehab Abu Majed. “They delivered fear.” The foundation’s representative declined to comment, leaving questions about accountability and whether this new wave of aid will avoid the same failures.
Across Gaza, families are trickling back north along Al Rashid Street, satellite images confirm. Many find only foundations where homes once stood. Tents now dot the coastline near Gaza City’s marina chosen not for comfort, but safety. Armed police from Hamas’s Interior Ministry patrol newly vacated zones, securing aid convoys and restoring a semblance of order. Dr. Mounir al-Boursh, Gaza’s Health Ministry director, said hospitals are preparing for 1,900 returning Palestinian prisoners, many needing urgent medical care. He also pleaded for the return of detained doctors and the bodies of medical workers who died in Israeli custody a quiet demand for dignity amid devastation.
Monday morning marks another turning point: the expected release of all remaining Israeli hostages about 20 of the original 48 still believed alive. Families received official notices Saturday to prepare for reunions at Rei’im camp. Simultaneously, Israel plans to free 2,000 Palestinian prisoners, including 250 serving life sentences. U.S. President Donald Trump, who brokered the deal, arrives Monday for meetings with hostage families and a speech at the Knesset before heading to Egypt for a regional peace summit. His visit underscores America’s deep involvement but also the fragility of a truce that sidesteps core issues like Gaza’s governance and Hamas’s future.
The war began with Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack that killed 1,200 Israelis and took 250 hostages. Israel’s response leveled neighborhoods, triggered famine, and drew accusations of genocide claims it denies. Now, after unimaginable loss, both sides are testing peace. But as Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz vows to destroy Hamas’s tunnels “under U.S. supervision” post-hostage release, the ceasefire’s longevity remains uncertain. For now, though, Gaza breathes. Children watch aid trucks pass like miracles on wheels. Mothers boil water with fuel they haven’t seen in months. And on a broken street in Sheikh Radwan, an old man sweeps glass from his doorstep not because it matters, but because to rebuild, you must first believe tomorrow is possible.
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