Egyptian mediators are seeking to reinforce the new ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza as aid officials appeal for a period of calm to tackle the humanitarian crisis left after 11 days of fighting.
The ceasefire, which began before dawn on Friday, was still holding on Saturday evening, enabling officials to start assessing the scale of the damage.
Rockets fired by Hamas and other Islamist militant groups paralysed towns in southern Israel during the hostilities, and caused widespread panic, but did much less damage than the bombardment of the Gaza Strip.
Palestinian officials put reconstruction costs at tens of millions of dollars in Gaza, where medical officials said 248 people were killed in the fighting.
A senior UN official who toured the densely populated coastal enclave on Saturday warned of increased health risks and widespread despair after homes, roads and other vital infrastructure including hospitals were damaged or destroyed.
“Everybody just needs to stand down and not to engage in any provocative moves,” Lynn Hastings, UN Humanitarian Coordinator for the Palestinian territories, said in a rubble-strewn area of Gaza City where she spoke to survivors.
Read the article by Nidal al-Mughrabi and Dan Williams in The Canberra Times.