NORTHERN GAZA STRIP — It is utterly quiet in a place once known as one of the most densely populated in the world.
The Israeli military took me and a small group of other international journalists inside Gaza on Wednesday, nearly one month into the ceasefire.
It was the first time I had entered Gaza after two years of war.
We stood at the edge of an Israeli military outpost, looking out at what used to be the bustling Shujaiya neighborhood outside Gaza City.
It was the scene of fierce fighting during the war. Now it is a wasteland of destruction.
The tall high-rise buildings not demolished in Gaza City are seen in the far distance. Around them is a vast monochrome expanse as far as the eye can see.
Piles of concrete that used to be homes. Skeletons of schools. Concrete beams standing in the dirt like tall tombstones.
For years before the war, I would enter Gaza every few months, to report for NPR. I remember driving through the Shujaiyeh neighborhood on my way to the center of Gaza City.
Now it is unrecognizable.