Months of Israeli aerial bombardment<\/a> have hammered the city and caused \u201calmost total devastation,\u201d Khaled Mohamed Al-Sheikh Eid, an engineer heading the debris removal and roads opening committee for the municipality of Rafah, told NBC News\u2019 ground crew Wednesday.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were very surprised by the extent of the destruction and debris on the roads,\u201d Al-Sheikh Eid added. \u201cIt has become evident to us that the level of destruction is enormous.\u201d<\/p>\n Since the Israel-Hamas ceasefire went into effect late last week, almost 3,000 aid trucks have so far entered Gaza<\/a> to help the city begin to rebuild, U.N. spokesperson Adnan Abu Hasna told NBC News.<\/p>\n In Rafah’s Al-Shawka area, NBC News video footage captured hundreds of trucks carrying food and fuel entering through the Kerem Shalom crossing Wednesday.\u00a0<\/p>\n Armed guards and masked men \u2014 some of them Hamas militants and others ordinary Palestinian merchants to protect trucks \u2014 supervised their safe passage to ensure their distribution. <\/p>\n Local health officials say more than 47,000 people have been killed in Israeli bombing during the conflict, which began Oct. 7, 2023<\/a>, when the Palestinian militant group Hamas carried out a terrorist attack on Israel in which Israeli officials say 1,200 people were killed and saw 251 people taken hostage.<\/p>\n With ceasefire deal<\/a> now agreed and Israeli hostages and Palestinians held in Israeli prisons beginning to return to their homes, Israeli officials have agreed to allow at least 600 truckloads of aid to enter Gaza daily during the initial six weeks.<\/p>\n![\"Ceasefire](\"https:\/\/media-cldnry.s-nbcnews.com\/image\/upload\/t_fit-760w,f_auto,q_auto:best\/rockcms\/2025-01\/250123-rafah-mb-0949-bd21eb.jpg\")
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