Gaza Strip residents told of devastation as they began returning to their homes on Sunday. "My house was razed to the ground - the house that I built myself over many years," Yasser Abu Younis told dpa.

The truce, which started at 11:15 a.m. local time, is just the first step toward ultimately ending the conflict and returning nearly 100 hostages abducted in Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack.

Even before the ceasefire officially took effect, many Palestinians moved through the wreckage to reach their homes, some on foot and others hauling their belongings on donkey carts.

Large plumes of smoke were seen over northern and central Gaza after the expected start of the ceasefire was delayed for nearly three hours. The ceasefire was delayed after Israel said Hamas had failed to produce the names of the first three hostages expected to be released.