Children played on a Gaza beach as displaced families left their cramped shelters for a short break during the truce between Israel and Hamas, but amid the laughter, their parents could not forget the hardships of war and homelessness.

As children splashed in the shallow water, jumping over small waves, adults in bare feet watched from the shore. Asmaa al-Sultan, a displaced woman from northern Gaza, sat on the sand with her arm around her mother. The older woman was crying quietly.

More than 30 members of the al-Sultan family are sheltering in a U.N. school in the town of Deir Al-Balah with hundreds of other displaced people.

“We came to the beach to take a breather, to escape from the feeling of the crowded schools and from the depressing and polluted environment we are in,” said Asmaa.

“People come to the beach to relax, to swim, for their children to have fun, they take food with them. But we are so depressed. We are on the beach but we want to cry.”

Hundreds of thousands of people have left their homes in northern Gaza, which has borne the brunt of Israel’s military assault, to seek refuge in tents, schools or the homes of friends and relatives in the southern part of the strip.

The gruelling conditions in the tent camps and schools, with overcrowding, a dearth of toilets and showers, and long daily queues for small rations of food and water, have been compounded by the psychological impact of bombardment and displacement.

The beach at Deir Al-Balah has a row of fishermen’s huts at the back, towards the bottom of a slope strewn with rubbish. Some displaced people had taken up residence in the flimsy huts, clothes hanging on strings outside.

‘What Happens To Us Next?’

Waleed al-Sultan, one of Asmaa’s younger relatives, was trying to untangle a net near the huts as he prepared to go out fishing in a small boat, hoping the truce would mean he could do so without danger.

“I brought nothing with me when I was displaced, so I thought I would make a living from fishing, but the (Israeli) guards stopped me and started shooting at us,” he said.

The war began when Hamas burst out of Gaza on Oct. 7 and rampaged through southern Israel, killing 1,200 people, including babies and children, and seizing 240 hostages.

Israel responded with an all-out assault on Gaza which has killed 14,800 Palestinians, four in ten of them children under 18, according to health officials in the Hamas-controlled territory.

While some displaced people have seized the opportunity of the four-day truce, which began on Friday, to check on their homes, others have been too fearful to return to the north, much of which has been reduced to a wasteland.

“We are afraid about the end of these four days. We don’t know what will happen to us next,” said Hazem al-Sultan, Asmaa’s husband.

He said they and their relatives had not dared to head north for fear of being shot at by Israeli soldiers, and had no idea what state their homes might be in.

“We are afraid for our children, for ourselves, and we don’t know what to do,” he said.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

The advertisements of Karnataka’s Congress government in Telangana dailies have been banned by the Election Commission  ahead of assembly polls in the southern state. The poll body’s decision came in response to a complaint by the BJP, which is trying to carve a niche in the state, and the ruling Bharat Rashtra Samithi of K Chandrashekar Rao.

The Election Commission has issued notice to the Principal Secretary of Karnataka government and sought a reply by 5 pm tomorrow.

It has asked why action should not be taken against the Information Department officer in view of the Model Code of Conduct in place in Telangana.

In its complaint, the BJP — which has tied up with actor-politician Pawan Kalyan’s Jana Sena — alleged that the Congress was misusing public money to influence elections.

The Congress has won the assembly election in Karnataka held earlier this year, ousting the BJP from power in the only southern state it ruled.

Over the weekend, the Election Commission had withdrawn the permission to the Telangana government to provide financial aid to farmers under the Rythu Bandhu Scheme, after a state minister made a public announcement about it. The poll body said it was a violation of the Model Code.

“There shall be no disbursement under the Scheme till the Model Code of Conduct in the State of Telangana ceases to apply in all its forms,” the Commission had said.

Ahead of the election, the move was a huge setback to the BRS government, which is hoping for a third consecutive term in power in India’s youngest state.

Elections are due in Telangana on Thursday. The votes will be counted on Sunday, December 3, along with votes from four other states.

Currently, Alia Bhatt is filming for Jigra, helmed by Vasan Bala. Notably, she’s co-producing the movie alongside Karan Johar. Alia had previously announced the project, expressing her excitement about this new venture. Reflecting on her journey from debuting in a Dharma production to now co-producing a film with them, she mentioned feeling a sense of coming full circle.

The film has generated significant buzz among fans, and the latest news swirling around involves Sobhita Dhulipala joining the cast. Speculation began when Alia recently followed the Made In Heaven actor on Instagram, further fueled by a post on X hinting at Sobhita’s involvement. However, there’s no official confirmation yet, leaving fans in anticipation.

Alia shared that since signing onto Jigra, she and Ranbir have coordinated their schedules, ensuring one of them is always with their daughter, Raha. As Alia primarily engages in night shoots for the film, she’s been able to spend ample daytime hours with Raha, albeit sacrificing some sleep to balance her commitments.