With the ceasefire now in effect, it hopes to bring an end to the most destructive chapter in the almost 77 year-long conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.
Gaza’s Hamas-led government estimates that 14 in every 15 homes have been damaged, with five destroyed.
The destruction has left the Gaza Strip littered with an estimated 42 million tonnes of debris, the equivalent of 180 Wembley stadiums.
The UN estimates that 69% of buildings have been damaged, with one in four (24%) totally destroyed.
Satellite images from northern Gaza capture the extent of the destruction.
Less than one kilometre west of the Indonesian Hospital, one of North Gaza’s main hospitals, entire residential neighbourhoods have been destroyed.
Alongside the destruction of physical infrastructure, tank trails, and sand fortifications indicate the current large-scale presence of the military in the north.
What does the future hold for Gaza?
The ceasefire came into force on Sunday morning after a delay. Under the terms of the deal, Israeli forces will be required to withdraw from their current positions to within 700 metres of the Gaza border.
The most immediate consequence is likely to be a rush of Palestinians returning to their homes. An estimated 1.9 million Gaza residents have been displaced since the war began – 90% of the population.
Many of them are sheltering in vast tent cities along Gaza’s shoreline, following Israel’s orders for them to flee to what it calls the Al Mawasi “humanitarian zone”.
The largest displacement took place on the sixth day of the war, when Israel gave all residents of the northern half of Gaza just six hours to flee southwards.
The ceasefire agreement stipulates that residents will be permitted to return to the north from the seventh day of the ceasefire, Sunday 26 January.
Yet it is unclear if the region can cope with an influx of returnees, especially the area to the north of Gaza City.
Image: Displaced Palestinians trying to return to their homes. Pic: Reuters
An estimated 70% of buildings in this region have been damaged or destroyed, and there is currently only one operational hospital.
The ceasefire agreement anticipates a mass exodus of people returning to the north, requiring that half of all aid be sent there.
The agreement stipulates that 600 aid trucks must be allowed to enter Gaza every day – a nine-fold increase on the month to 13 January, which saw an average of just 67 trucks enter per day.
Many agencies have a backlog of trucks filled with humanitarian aid ready to be transported into Gaza, but the extent of the damage makes prioritising a challenge.
Image: Pic: Reuters
Damage to water and sanitation facilities, for example, is extensive. Before the war, 80% of water production came from groundwater wells – aid agencies estimate that only 8% of those wells in North Gaza are now accessible.
The only seawater desalination plant in the North, which was a key source of drinking water, was destroyed in the fighting.
Even if water sources can be repaired, the infrastructure distributing it has been badly damaged. According to the WASH Cluster, a group of aid agencies, damage to pipelines in Gaza means that 70% of water sent through them is currently leaking out.
Healthcare infrastructure is also heavily damaged. According to the World Health Organisation, half of Gaza’s 36 hospitals are out of service. The other half are only partially functioning, a result of shortages of medical supplies, fuel and personnel.
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While homes and infrastructure can be rebuilt, the lives lost in this devastating conflict will continue to weigh heavily on both Israeli and Palestinian society.
1,195 people were killed in the October 7 Hamas attack which sparked the war in 2023, according to Israeli authorities, including 815 civilians.
The Palestinian militant group and its allies took a further 251 people, including women and children, back to the Gaza Strip as hostages.
Israel responded with a devastating air and ground offensive that Palestinian authorities say has killed at least 46,788 people, and injured a further 110,453.
Image: People mourn Palestinians killed in Israeli strikes. Pic: Reuters
That means one in every 14 Palestinians in Gaza has been killed or wounded since the war began.
Those figures are from Gaza’s health ministry, which is part of the territory’s Hamas-led government.
They don’t distinguish between civilians and combatants, but only around 41% of reported fatalities are military-age males – the rest being women, children and elderly people.
Health officials say 1,410 families have been “completely wiped out”, and a further 3,463 left with one surviving member. At least 35,055 children have lost a parent.
The Data and Forensics team is a multi-skilled unit dedicated to providing transparent journalism from Sky News. We gather, analyse and visualise data to tell data-driven stories. We combine traditional reporting skills with advanced analysis of satellite images, social media and other open source information. Through multimedia storytelling we aim to better explain the world while also showing how our journalism is done.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has told Donald Trump “let’s do a deal” as he offered the US a partnership over Ukraine’s stores of rare earth and minerals.
Earlier this week, Mr Trump said he wanted Ukraine to supply the US with critical resources in exchange for financial support in its war with Russia.
In an interview with Reuters on Friday, Mr Zelenskyy said: “If we are talking about a deal, then let’s do a deal, we are only for it.”
While emphasising that Kyiv was not proposing “giving away” its resources, he said he was open to a mutually beneficial partnership to develop them jointly.
Rare earths are a group of 17 metals that are vital in the production of high-performance magnets, electric motors and consumer electronics.
Mr Zelenskyy touted the country’s reserves of titanium and uranium as Europe’s largest.
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According to the World Economic Forum, Ukrainealso has the potential to become a key supplier of lithium, beryllium, manganese, gallium, zirconium, graphite, apatite, fluorite and nickel.
Showing a map of Ukraine’s mineral deposits, he then said Russiacurrently has control of less than 20% of the country’s mineral resources – but that includes about half its rare earth deposits.
Image: Zelenskyy said Ukraine has Europe’s largest stores of titanium and uranium. Pic: Reuters
“Putin is not just grabbing them [minerals] along with the land, he is already thinking about how to get other partners in his alliance – North Korea, Iran… and he will give them access,” Mr Zelenskyy said.
“This is very rich land. This does not mean that we are giving it away to anyone, even to strategic partners. We are talking about partnership…
“Let’s develop this together, make money, and most importantly, it’s about the security of the Western world.”
The Ukrainian president added that Kyiv and the White House were discussing the idea of using the country’s underground gas storage sites to store American liquefied natural gas, calling it “very interesting”.
He also said he would like to discuss the US having priority when it came to rebuilding Ukraine, saying it would amount to “a lot of money for business”.
‘Not accepting Russia’s ultimatums’
He also insisted that Mr Trump must meet with him before he meets with the Russian president, “otherwise it will look like a dialogue about Ukraine without Ukraine”.
He added: “I don’t know what compromises can be discussed at the negotiating table, we have not reached that point…
“It is important for people to understand that Ukraine is negotiating, not accepting ultimatums from Russia.”
He also stressed Ukraine’s need for security guarantees from its allies as part of any settlement.
It comes as Mr Trump said he may meet with Mr Zelenskyy in the White House as early as next week. The two last met in New York in September last year.
Mr Trump also repeated his interest in meeting the Russian president with whom he said he always had a “good relationship”.
Speaking to reporters while meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, Mr Trump said: “I’d like to see it end, just on a human basis. I’d like to see that end. It’s a ridiculous war.”
Mr Zelenskyy also told Reuters in his interview that thousands of North Korean soldiers have now returned to fight Kyiv’s forces in the Kursk region of Russia.
Hamas has released the names of three Israeli hostages it says it will release today in the fifth such swap of a fragile ceasefire in Gaza.
The hostages are Eli Sharabi, Ohad Ben Ami and Or Levy, Hamas armed wing spokesperson Abu Obeida said in a Telegram post.
An Israeli official confirmed Israel had received the three names from Hamas.
In return for the captives’ release, Hamas said it expects 183 Palestinian prisoners to be released.
Image: Jabalia, in northern Gaza, after months of Israeli attacks.
Pic: Reuters/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Both Mr Ami, 56, and Mr Sharabi, 52, were taken from Kibbutz Be’eri during the 7 October attack. The cross-border attack saw around 1,200 Israelis killed and around 250 people taken hostage.
Mr Levy, 34, was abducted from the Nova music festival.
Of the Palestinian prisoners being freed, 18 have been serving life sentences, 54 were serving long sentences and the vast majority, 111, were detained in Gaza during the war.
Eli Sharabi
Mr Sharabi’s wife Lianne Sharabi was born in Bristol.
She, along with their children, 16-year-old Noiya and 13-year-old Yahel, were killed in the 7 October attack.
His brother Yossi was also killed after being taken hostage.
In a statement after news he would be released was announced, Mr Sharabi’s lawyers said the “family has already lost too much… [they] are pleased and relieved that Eli Sharabi is reportedly on the list for release by Hamas”.
It added: “It is long past time to bring Eli home.”
Or Levy
Mr Levy was captured by militants from a bomb shelter near the Nova music festival.
His wife Einav was killed during the 7 October attack. Their son Almog, a toddler, is staying with his grandparents.
Mr Levy is from the city of Rishon Lezion, where he worked as a computer programmer.
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2:40
Michael Levy speaks to Sky News about his brother
Some of Mr Levy’s family previously spoke about his kidnapping and the death of his wife.
Speaking around Hanukkah last year, his brother Michael Levy told Sky News’s Yousra Elbagir: “I have three little girls but it won’t be the same. Hanukkah is a happy holiday – you light candles, you sing and eat all sorts of things but for us it is not a real holiday without Or.”
Ohad Ben Ami
Mr Ben Ami, a father of three, was taken hostage with his wife Raz, who was released during the brief ceasefire period in November.
His daughter Ella Ben Ami previously spoke to Sky News about missing her dad Mr Ami, as she pleaded for his release.
“On the eve of Christmas, on the 24 December, it will be his birthday, and I don’t want to celebrate it without him,” she told Sky News in 2023.
Ms Ami was previously one of the first to tell the world what happened on 7 October, calling an Israeli TV channel while hiding.
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1:11
Ella Ben Ami: ‘I miss my Dad and I need my Dad with me’ this Christmas Eve
Row over aid access
Earlier on Friday, Hamas accused Israel of breaching the ceasefire accord and held off announcing the names of the Israeli hostages until the deadline had passed.
The militant group claimed Israel delayed the entry of hundreds of trucks carrying food and other humanitarian supplies agreed under the truce deal and held back all but a fraction of the tents and mobile homes needed to provide people shelter in the devastated enclave.
“This demonstrates clear manipulation of relief and shelter priorities,” Hamas said in a statement.
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17:34
Trump 100 Day 17: Can Trump take over the Gaza Strip?
COGAT, the Israeli military agency that is overseeing the aid deliveries into Gaza, denied the accusation.
It added Israel would “not tolerate violations by Hamas”.
The claims and counter-claims highlight the fragility and uncertainty of the ceasefire.
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1:09
Gaza ceasefire deal explained
This has been heightened by US President Donald Trump recently saying the US could take over Gaza and move the Palestinian population out.
Israel’s air and ground war in Gaza has killed more than 47,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials, and displaced the majority of the strip’s population.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has told Donald Trump “let’s do a deal” as he offered the US a partnership over Ukraine’s stores of rare earth and minerals.
Earlier this week, Mr Trump said he wanted Ukraine to supply the US with critical resources in exchange for financial support in its war with Russia.
In an interview with Reuters on Friday, Mr Zelenskyy said: “If we are talking about a deal, then let’s do a deal, we are only for it.”
While emphasising that Kyiv was not proposing “giving away” its resources, he said he was open to a mutually beneficial partnership to develop them jointly.
Rare earths are a group of 17 metals that are vital in the production of high-performance magnets, electric motors and consumer electronics.
Mr Zelenskyy touted the country’s reserves of titanium and uranium as Europe’s largest.
More on Donald Trump
Related Topics:
According to the World Economic Forum, Ukrainealso has the potential to become a key supplier of lithium, beryllium, manganese, gallium, zirconium, graphite, apatite, fluorite and nickel.
Showing a map of Ukraine’s mineral deposits, he then said Russiacurrently has control of less than 20% of the country’s mineral resources – but that includes about half its rare earth deposits.
Image: Zelenskyy said Ukraine has Europe’s largest stores of titanium and uranium. Pic: Reuters
“Putin is not just grabbing them [minerals] along with the land, he is already thinking about how to get other partners in his alliance – North Korea, Iran… and he will give them access,” Mr Zelenskyy said.
“This is very rich land. This does not mean that we are giving it away to anyone, even to strategic partners. We are talking about partnership…
“Let’s develop this together, make money, and most importantly, it’s about the security of the Western world.”
The Ukrainian president added that Kyiv and the White House were discussing the idea of using the country’s underground gas storage sites to store American liquefied natural gas, calling it “very interesting”.
He also said he would like to discuss the US having priority when it came to rebuilding Ukraine, saying it would amount to “a lot of money for business”.
‘Not accepting Russia’s ultimatums’
He also insisted that Mr Trump must meet with him before he meets with the Russian president, “otherwise it will look like a dialogue about Ukraine without Ukraine”.
He added: “I don’t know what compromises can be discussed at the negotiating table, we have not reached that point…
“It is important for people to understand that Ukraine is negotiating, not accepting ultimatums from Russia.”
He also stressed Ukraine’s need for security guarantees from its allies as part of any settlement.
It comes as Mr Trump said he may meet with Mr Zelenskyy in the White House as early as next week. The two last met in New York in September last year.
Mr Trump also repeated his interest in meeting the Russian president with whom he said he always had a “good relationship”.
Speaking to reporters while meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, Mr Trump said: “I’d like to see it end, just on a human basis. I’d like to see that end. It’s a ridiculous war.”
Mr Zelenskyy also told Reuters in his interview that thousands of North Korean soldiers have now returned to fight Kyiv’s forces in the Kursk region of Russia.