Palestinians returning to their homes in Gaza after a ceasefire with Israel are finding widespread destruction and searching for the remains of loved ones, The Washington Post reported.

The once-bustling cities of Gaza now lie in ruins, with entire neighborhoods reduced to rubble.

Ali Suleiman, a merchant from Khan Younis, has been searching for his teenage son for nine months. “I’ll know him immediately through his clothes, even if he is a skeleton,” Suleiman said.

Ahmed Radwan, a spokesperson for the Palestinian civil defense, reported recovering about 150 bodies from Rafah’s rubble. The decomposed state of the bodies makes identification challenging.

Abeer Barakat, 44, from Gaza City, focused on giving proper burials to six family members. “We have no time to grieve,” she said. “We need to keep working.”

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In Beit Lahia, 17-year-old Raghad Hamouda returned to find her home destroyed. “Everything had turned into ash,” she said. Hamouda managed to salvage her high school diploma but now faces living in a tent indefinitely.

Ruba Za’arub, 22, from Rafah, was shocked by the devastation in her neighborhood. “I reached what I knew was our home, but because of the severity of the destruction there, I became confused,” Za’arub said.

The Gaza Strip, once a vibrant area with bustling streets and a lively coastline, now resembles a vast landscape of destruction.

According to damage data analysis from The Washington Post, a significant percentage of buildings across Gaza have been damaged or destroyed.

As Palestinians sift through the remnants of their former lives, they face the daunting task of rebuilding amidst the ruins while grappling with the loss of loved ones and homes.

Read more and see more video at The Washington Post