For more than 15 months, Gaza has endured relentless violence from Israel, its people living in unimaginable terror and grief.

Now, as the ceasefire takes hold, my family is left in the eerie silence that follows the bombs, overwhelmed by a fragile sense of relief, yet gripped by uncertainty.

Images taken by family members of Ramia Abdo Sultan on their return to their homes in southern Gaza.

The question is not whether the damage can be repaired, but whether the violence will return. And if it does, will there be anything left to destroy?

The photos my cousins, aunts and uncles send show a barely recognisable Gaza. Homes, schools, hospitals, businesses reduced to rubble. My family, scattered across the city’s north and south, has endured horrors I cannot imagine. Those who survived are left with the charred remains of their lives, and face a painful decision: risk returning or wait to see if the ceasefire will hold.

Ramia Abdo Sultan’s family members bury a relative in the courtyard of their home in southern Gaza.

My family, including my husband’s relatives, once thrived – they were entrepreneurs, business owners, people who helped others. Now, they’re trying to piece together........

© The Sydney Morning Herald