Carting heavy cans of water through muddy streets, searching mounds of rubble for clothes, mourning lost relatives and homes — Gazans reprieved from Israeli bombardment during the truce with Hamas were still facing the daily hardships of the conflict, Reuters reports.

At a water station in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday, people filled plastic containers and lugged them to homes or shelters using carts pulled by donkeys or by hand, bicycles, a shopping trolley, a wheelbarrow, and even a wheelchair.

“The struggle for water has happened daily since we were first displaced until now. Even during the ceasefire, they didn’t find a solution to the water problem,” said Rami al-Rizek, displaced with his family from their home in Gaza City.

Now in its fifth day, the pause in fighting between Israel and Hamas has allowed an increased number of aid trucks to enter Gaza from Egypt, but the humanitarian needs are so immense that many Gazans have felt little or no impact.

“Whether there is a truce or not, we still have no electricity, no water, and none of life’s basic necessities,” said Muath Hamdan, another man waiting at the water station.

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