Gaza ceasefire: Families find nothing but death, destruction and 'hell' after returning home
Gazans have been trying to make the most of the four-day ceasefire, using it to gather supplies and search for loved ones.
Having been unable to contact his father for two weeks due to heavy fighting and network outages - when Ali Mahdi eventually reached him, he found him dead.
When he returned to his home in Gaza, all that remained were bits of furniture, blankets stained with blood and the bodies of his father and nephew.
He buried both of their bodies in the garden, a final attempt to preserve their dignity after two weeks of heavy fighting in which nobody could retrieve the bodies decomposing under the sun.
The once-vibrant coastal community which the family lived in has been reduced to rubble, with neighbours, acquaintances and strangers left in the streets.
It comes after reports that Israel and Hamas have agreed to extend the temporary ceasefire in Gaza for an additional two days.
Mr Mehdi said the truce offered him brief respite, allowing him to return to his home and bury his father and his nephew, digging with his bare hands alongside his brother.
“Our lives have turned into hell,” he said, addressing the camera. “What is our fault? We are neither Hamas nor Fatah and we have never held a weapon in our lives.
"What is our fault for this to happen to us? You are not fighting Hamas, you are fighting among the people.”
Countless other families have also returned to their homes to find devastation and lives lost just as Ali Mahdi and his brother.
It came as the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas continued, as the militant group freed 17 more hostages.
Those included 14 Israelis and the first American, a 4-year-old girl with dual Israeli citizenship.
In turn, Israel released 39 Palestinian prisoners on Sunday.
It is the third exchange under a four-day truce deal. International mediators led by the US, Egypt and Qatar are trying to extend the ceasefire.
Israel has said it would extend the cease-fire by one day for every 10 additional hostages released.
After the announcement by Qatar, a key mediator in the conflict, along with the United States and Egypt , Hamas confirmed it had agreed to a two-day extension “under the same terms.”
This is the first significant pause in seven weeks of war, marked by the deadliest Israeli-Palestinian violence in decades.
More than 13,300 Palestinians have been killed, roughly two thirds of them women and minors, according to the Health Ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza.
The war has claimed more than 1,200 Israelis, mostly civilians killed in the initial attack.
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