Photos show Gaza’s destruction as families return to what’s left of their homes

Two years of war between Israel and Hamas have left the Gaza Strip in shambles.

After relentless Israeli bombardment, entire neighborhoods have been reduced to rubble, streets are unrecognizable and once-bustling markets are now just twisted metal and concrete.

With a ceasefire in place, Palestinians are returning to what remains of their homes and communities. They walk through collapsed buildings, sift through debris for fragments of their past lives and try to rebuild.

The U.N. development agency says the amount of debris in Gaza would be enough to build 13 giant pyramids in Giza in Egypt. The latest joint estimate from the U.N., the European Union and the World Bank is that $70 billion will be required to rebuild Gaza.

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This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.

Photos show Gaza’s destruction as families return to what's left of their homes | iNFOnews.ca
Smoke rises to the sky following an Israeli military strike in the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel, Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025, following the announcement that Israel and Hamas have agreed to the first phase of a peace plan to pause the fighting. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
Photos show Gaza’s destruction as families return to what's left of their homes | iNFOnews.ca
Palestinians walk past destroyed buildings in the Shati refugee camp in Gaza City, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025, after Israel and Hamas agreed to a pause in their war and the release of the remaining hostages. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Photos show Gaza’s destruction as families return to what's left of their homes | iNFOnews.ca
Displaced Palestinians ride donkey carts loaded with belongings past destroyed buildings in Gaza City, Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025, after Israel and Hamas agreed to a pause in their war and the release of the remaining hostages. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Photos show Gaza’s destruction as families return to what's left of their homes | iNFOnews.ca
Palestinians walk among destroyed buildings in Gaza City, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025, after Israel and Hamas agreed to a pause in their war and the release of the remaining hostages. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Photos show Gaza’s destruction as families return to what's left of their homes | iNFOnews.ca
Displaced Palestinians walk through an area surrounded by destroyed buildings in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025, after Israel and Hamas agreed to a pause in their war and the release of the remaining hostages. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Photos show Gaza’s destruction as families return to what's left of their homes | iNFOnews.ca
Displaced Palestinians ride on a van loaded with their belongings amid rubble in Gaza City, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025, after Israel and Hamas agreed to a pause in their war and the release of the remaining hostages. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Photos show Gaza’s destruction as families return to what's left of their homes | iNFOnews.ca
Displaced Palestinians walk with their belongings past destroyed buildings as they return to their homes in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Friday, Oct. 10, 2025, after Israel and Hamas agreed to a pause in their war and the release of the remaining hostages. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Photos show Gaza’s destruction as families return to what's left of their homes | iNFOnews.ca
Destroyed buildings and rubble are seen in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City, Friday, Oct. 10, 2025, after Israel and Hamas agreed to pause their war and release the remaining hostages. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Photos show Gaza’s destruction as families return to what's left of their homes | iNFOnews.ca
A displaced Palestinian boy carries a wooden board as he walks along the heavily damaged Al-Jalaa Street in Gaza City, Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025, after Israel and Hamas agreed to pause their war and release the remaining hostages. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Photos show Gaza’s destruction as families return to what's left of their homes | iNFOnews.ca
A Palestinian man inspects the remains of a destroyed home in Gaza City, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025, after Israel and Hamas agreed to a pause in their war and the release of the remaining hostages. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Photos show Gaza’s destruction as families return to what's left of their homes | iNFOnews.ca
Displaced Palestinians walk past destroyed buildings as they return to their homes in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City, Friday, Oct. 10, 2025, after Israel and Hamas agreed on a ceasefire and the release of remaining hostages. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Photos show Gaza’s destruction as families return to what's left of their homes | iNFOnews.ca
A man pushes his bicycle through rubble in Gaza City, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025, after Israel and Hamas agreed to a pause in their war and the release of the remaining hostages. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Photos show Gaza’s destruction as families return to what's left of their homes | iNFOnews.ca
A displaced man walks past a Palestinian flag placed over the rubble of destroyed buildings in Gaza City, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025, after Israel and Hamas agreed to a temporary pause in their war and the release of the remaining hostages. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Photos show Gaza’s destruction as families return to what's left of their homes | iNFOnews.ca
Displaced Palestinians walk amid destroyed buildings in the heavily damaged Sheikh Radwan neighborhood in Gaza City, Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025, after Israel and Hamas agreed to a pause in their war and the release of the remaining hostages. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Photos show Gaza’s destruction as families return to what's left of their homes | iNFOnews.ca
A Palestinian operates a mechanical shovel to clear debris from the heavily damaged Al-Jalaa Street in Gaza City, Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025, after Israel and Hamas agreed to a pause in their war and the release of the remaining hostages. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Photos show Gaza’s destruction as families return to what's left of their homes | iNFOnews.ca
A man looks out from his damaged apartment at the destruction in his neighborhood in Gaza City, Friday, Oct. 10, 2025, after returning home following an agreement between Israel and Hamas on a ceasefire and the release of remaining hostages. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Photos show Gaza’s destruction as families return to what's left of their homes | iNFOnews.ca
This frame grab from a drone video shot on Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025, shows Palestinians walking past destroyed buildings in Gaza City, in the northern Gaza Strip. (AP Photo)
Photos show Gaza’s destruction as families return to what's left of their homes | iNFOnews.ca
Displaced Palestinians set up their tents amid destroyed buildings at the Shati refugee camp in Gaza City, Sunday, Oct. 12, 2025, after Israel and Hamas agreed to a pause in their war and the release of the remaining hostages. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
Photos show Gaza’s destruction as families return to what's left of their homes | iNFOnews.ca
Israeli excavators work in the Gaza Strip as the sun sets, seen from southern Israel, Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

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