Gazans tried to piece back their lives Saturday after a devastating 11-day conflict with Israel that killed more than 200 people and made thousands homeless in the impoverished Palestinian enclave.

Authorities started distributing tents and mattresses in the Gaza Strip, an AFP reporter said, a day after an Egypt-brokered ceasefire ended deadly Israeli air strikes on the besieged enclave and rocket fire out of it towards Israel.

A Palestinian child stands amidst the rubble of buildings, destroyed by Israeli strikes, in Beit Hanun in the northern Gaza Strip
A Palestinian child stands amidst the rubble of buildings, destroyed by Israeli strikes, in Beit Hanun in the northern Gaza Strip AFP / Emmanuel DUNAND

Attention turned to rebuilding the coastal territory controlled by the Islamist group Hamas as rescue workers searched for bodies or survivors in mounds of rubble, while residents tried to assess what was left of their lives.

The latest round of bombardment killed 248 people in Gaza, including 66 children, and wounded over 1,900 since May 10, the Hamas-run health ministry says.

A truck loaded with humanitarian aid passes through the Kerem Shalom crossing into Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip
A truck loaded with humanitarian aid passes through the Kerem Shalom crossing into Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip AFP / SAID KHATIB

The United Nations says more than half of those killed, the overwhelming majority in Israeli air strikes, were civilians.

Israel claims it has killed "more than 200 terrorists", including 25 commanders.

Palestinian fishermen set out to sea from Gaza City after a ban on fishing was lifted
Palestinian fishermen set out to sea from Gaza City after a ban on fishing was lifted AFP / Emmanuel DUNAND

Rockets fired by Palestinian armed groups killed 12 people in Israel including a child, an Israeli soldier, an Indian citizen and two Thai nationals, the police say, and wounded around 357 people.

Palestinian women sit in the rubble of a building, destroyed by Israeli strikes, in Beit Hanun in the northern Gaza Strip
Palestinian women sit in the rubble of a building, destroyed by Israeli strikes, in Beit Hanun in the northern Gaza Strip AFP / Emmanuel DUNAND

In front of a flattened tower block where she used to rent out apartments, Aisha Mousallem was wearing black.

Gazans use a front-end loader to clear away rubble in Beit Hanun, in the northern Gaza Strip
Gazans use a front-end loader to clear away rubble in Beit Hanun, in the northern Gaza Strip AFP / Mohammed ABED

"Even if I lost no one in my family, I'm in mourning," she said.

Sarah Muscroft, the head of the UN humanitarian agency (OCHA) in the occupied Palestinian territories, said the intensity of the bombardment had led to "extensive damage" across Gaza.

Palestinians gather at Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque compound, the third holiest site of Islam
Palestinians gather at Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque compound, the third holiest site of Islam AFP / AHMAD GHARABLI

"Over 6,000 people have been rendered homeless as a result of the hostilities," she said.

More than 1,042 housing or commercial units were estimated to have been completely destroyed, and 800,000 people have no regular access to water.

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish worshippers pray in front of the Western Wall in Jerusalem on May 21, 2021
Ultra-Orthodox Jewish worshippers pray in front of the Western Wall in Jerusalem on May 21, 2021 AFP / GIL COHEN-MAGEN

"The building effort is going to be really quite profound," she told AFP.

Earlier on Saturday, shopkeepers assessed the damage, finding many supplies coated in thick layers of dust.

People walk past a damaged shop in Al-Rimal commercial district in Gaza City on May 22, 2021
People walk past a damaged shop in Al-Rimal commercial district in Gaza City on May 22, 2021 AFP / Emmanuel DUNAND

Wael Amin al-Sharafa said he had stocked up his shop with new clothes to sell during the usually busy period of Eid al-Fitr, at the end of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan.

"But now it's all lost," he said. "Who will pay for all this? I have no idea."

Map locating Israel and the Gaza Strip with details of the conflict there, as of May 17, 0200 GMT.
Map locating Israel and the Gaza Strip with details of the conflict there, as of May 17, 0200 GMT. AFP / Gal ROMA

Convoys of lorries bringing much-needed medicine, food and fuel entered Gaza Friday through the Kerem Shalom crossing after Israel reopened it.

Thousands of displaced Gazans have now started going back to their homes and Israelis returned to normal life after a ceasefire appeared to take hold. Buildings across Gaza City were razed to the ground during the 11-day conflict between Israel and Palest
Thousands of displaced Gazans have now started going back to their homes and Israelis returned to normal life after a ceasefire appeared to take hold. Buildings across Gaza City were razed to the ground during the 11-day conflict between Israel and Palestinian militant groups in the blockaded enclave. AFPTV / Bilal AL-SABBAGH

The UN's Central Emergency Response Fund said it had released $18.5 million for humanitarian efforts.

The latest round of Israeli bombardment forced 91,000 people to flee their homes in Gaza, according to OCHA.

An Egyptian security delegation monitoring the ceasefire deal met Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas on Saturday, Palestinian news agency WAFA said.

Both Israel and Hamas were fast to claim victory.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel's bombing campaign had been an "exceptional success".

Hamas' political chief Ismail Haniyeh said the group had "dealt a painful and severe blow that will leave its deep marks" on Israel, and thanked Iran for "providing funds and weapons".

An AFP photographer on Saturday saw fighters of Hamas' armed wing parading in the streets of Gaza city.

The Hamas authorities said government offices would re-open on Sunday.

The international community welcomed the ceasefire and the UN Security Council on Saturday called for "full adherence" to it.

US President Joe Biden on Friday pledged to help organise efforts to rebuild Gaza and said creating a Palestinian state alongside Israel is the "only answer" to the conflict.

"We still need a two-state solution," he said.

Peace talks have stalled since 2014, including over the key issues of the status of occupied east Jerusalem and Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Israeli police on Friday fired stun grenades at worshippers in Jerusalem's flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque compound, and Israeli forces beat an AFP photographer who was covering the unrest.

The incident was reminiscent of the tensions in Jerusalem that sparked the latest round of conflict.

Israeli security forces had cracked down on protests against the expulsion of Palestinians from their homes to make way for Jewish settlers in the annexed east Jerusalem neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah.

They had also moved in on worshippers at Al-Aqsa, Islam's third holiest site, which is revered by Jews as the Temple Mount.

Hamas on May 10 launched rockets from Gaza towards Israel, in "solidarity" with Palestinians in Jerusalem.

Israeli forces have killed 25 Palestinians, including four under the age of 18, in the West Bank since May 10, authorities in the territory say. Israel claims five tried to attack Israeli forces.