Jerusalem | Palestinians took in the scale of devastation to their old neighbourhoods and Israelis awaited news about three newly released hostages as a fragile ceasefire between Hamas and Israel continued to hold on Monday (Tuesday AEDT).

With the 15-month war paused Palestinians have been returning to parts of the Gaza Strip they had fled, picking their way through vast swaths of rubble and trying to salvage what they could – a sofa, a mattress, a chair or a crate – from the wreckage of their former homes.