Under a night sky illuminated by moonlight rather than flares and explosions, Gaza resident Ibrahim Kaninch sat by a small bonfire outside his partially destroyed house, feeding the flames with bits of cardboard as he heated up water for tea, Reuters reports.

The peaceful scene, on the second night of a temporary truce between Israel and Hamas, was a moment of respite and reflection for Kaninch, who like other Gazans has endured fear and hardship since the conflict began on Oct 7.

“Were living days of calm, where we are stealing moments to make tea,” he said, his face lit in warm colours by the glow of the fire. “These truce days have allowed people to have a bit of social communication and to check on their families and friends and their houses.”

Kaninch lives in Khan Younis, a town in the southern Gaza Strip where tens of thousands of people have sought refuge in tents, schools and residents’ homes after fleeing heavy bombardment in the northern half of the territory.

However, air strikes have also hit many targets in the south, and Kaninch said the constant terror and the sound of military jets and explosions made it impossible to have a quiet evening whether inside or out, until the truce.

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