'We will rebuild again,' Palestinians say as they return to demolished homes

After seven weeks of Israeli bombardment on Gaza, many are now returning home to inspect the damage and check up on loved ones during a four-day temporary truce.

"Where will we live? Where will we go? We are trying to collect bits of wood to build a tent to shelter us, but to no avail. There is nothing to shelter a family," Tahani al-Najjar told Reuters, as she removed rubble and twisted metal out of the way.

Najjar, a 58-year-old mother of five from Khan Younis in the south of the enclave, said Israel's military had also levelled her house in two previous conflicts in 2008 and 2014.

She pulled several intact cups from the ruins, where a bicycle and dust-caked clothes lay amid the debris. "We will rebuild again," she said.

For the 2.3 million people who live in the Gaza Strip, the pause in the constant air and artillery strikes has offered a first chance to safely move around and return to their homes.