SHAAF, Gaza Strip — The calm that prevailed in the Gaza Strip during the three-day truce seemed like a strange guest, especially in the areas that had been battlefields only a few days earlier. People were seen walking on top of the ruins, now that the stench of death and the sounds of shelling have disappeared. The eastern border — which Al-Monitor visited on the first day of the truce on Aug. 11 — appeared calm, like a golden horizon, whereas previously just approaching it meant suicide.

With the danger in those areas having subsided, the displacement and suffering of families that came to inspect their homes becomes apparent. Some of these families had never been refugees before, as was the case with the Kafarna family, which resides on Abu Aouda Street in the city of Beit Hanoun. Here, the meaning of the phrase "the killing of beauty" applies. This city, which was full of trees and low-rise buildings, now resembles an abandoned construction site.

Dalal Kafarna sits on the doorstep of her home, the only thing left that was not hit by shelling. "We came back this morning to inspect the house. Look at it. … I have lived through many wars in my life, including the 1956, 1967, 2008 and 2012 wars. Never before has my family experienced what they experienced in this war. They bombed our house and scared us, and our relatives were killed," she told Al-Monitor.

The few meters to the entrance of Dalal's home is a challenge because of the debris of stones, pieces of glass and iron.