Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu finally agreed to the ceasefire.

The agreement marks the end of Israel's attack on Gaza that began on October 7, 2023, and left the Palestinian enclave home to more than 2 million people in ruins. With the official death toll approaching 47,000 and more than 110,000 injured, Palestinians in Gaza and those concerned about their lives around the world are understandably delighted by the news.

But unfortunately, this does not end the suffering of the Palestinians. Nor will the “day two” of the Gaza genocide be any less devastating.

Over the past 15 months, Israel has transformed the long-besieged Palestinian enclave into a post-apocalyptic wasteland; methodically bombing, bulldozing or burning every building its troops happened to see.

In mid-December, a UNOSAT assessment of satellite imagery showed that 170,812 buildings in Gaza had been damaged or destroyed since the Israeli offensive began in October 2023.

This number represents 69% of all buildings in the enclave, approximately 245,123 housing units. It includes more than 90% of school buildings and every university in Gaza. It includes (PDF) the Rafah Museum, the Jawaharlal Nehru Library at Al-Azhar University and the Gaza City Library. It includes the Great Mosque of Gaza and the Church of St. Porphyrius. It includes most of Gaza's hospitals and nearly 70% of its medical centers.

Satellite images also show that 70% of Gaza's agricultural infrastructure has been systematically damaged during the war, either from shelling or under the weight of heavy military vehicles. As a result, food production in Gaza in 2024 has been at an all-time low. The enclave's entire population is currently food insecure, with the vast majority facing "extremely severe levels of hunger."

In April 2024, a joint World Bank and United Nations assessment showed that 92% of Gaza's main roads were damaged or destroyed. At least 75% of telecommunications infrastructure was damaged or destroyed. The Gaza Electricity Distribution Company reportedly lost 90% of its machinery and equipment, amounting to US$450 million in losses.

In the final months of the Israeli military campaign, only one of three desalination plants was operational, meeting only 7% of Gaza's water needs. According to Oxfam, all wastewater treatment plants and most sewage pumping stations in Gaza were "forced to close" due to Israel's "fuel and electricity blockade."

But the real tragedy here is not the destruction of infrastructure, roads and buildings. What we are witnessing in Gaza is the destruction of an entire society. Israel is not just destroying natural landscapes. It tears the fabric of Gaza's social, cultural, intellectual and economic life to shreds.

The official death toll from Israel's military operations in Gaza is approaching 50,000 - a devastating figure in itself. However, this is likely to be a serious underestimate. Gaza officials long ago lost the ability to accurately count the death toll. We know that thousands of people may still be buried under the rubble. In June 2024, a study published by The Lancet estimated that the actual death toll from Israel’s attack on Gaza may exceed 186,000. More than six months later, the death toll now undoubtedly far exceeds this estimate.

Among those killed in the massacre were artists and writers such as Walaa al-Faranji, who was killed in an airstrike in December 2024. And there are poets like Refaat Alareer, the voice of a generation and a revered symbol of resistance and resilience, who in a seemingly targeted attack in December 2023 Killed in air raid.

Among the dead were thousands of school teachers, university professors and students - the builders of Gaza's future.

The shocking death toll also includes more than 130 journalists, including Mustafa Thuraya and Hamza al-Dahdouh, who worked under unimaginably difficult conditions Killed by targeted attacks or indiscriminate bombings while trying to get the job done.

Israel has also killed more than 1,000 doctors and medical personnel in this "war", some with bombs and others with tank fire, for trying to help the sick and wounded. Many people have also been killed in Israeli detention centers and prisons, such as Dr. Ziad Eldalou.

Rebuilding Gaza after the genocide will be a huge undertaking - costing more than $50 billion, according to some estimates. But even such a huge investment would not be enough to replace the thousands of lost brains—doctors, educators, journalists. No amount of money will be enough to heal and rebuild a society devastated by unimaginable violence and brutality.

The difficulty of reconstruction also stems from the fact that survivors, those who are lucky enough to be able to celebrate the ceasefire today, are also traumatized and broken.

They have all been displaced multiple times. They lost family, friends and colleagues. They lost their homes, their communities. They are no longer the same person they were 15 months ago, and healing is not easy.

It will take years, if not decades, of unwavering global political investment in human development for Gaza to have any chance of recovering from this.

But even so, we cannot expect the Israeli authorities to be willing to allow such a resurgence to occur. There is no reason to believe that Israel will abide by the ceasefire, permanently cease arbitrary bombing and incursions, and allow Gaza to rebuild and heal “the day after tomorrow.”

So, yes, for now, the war seems to be coming to an end. But Gaza's future looks grim. This is not to say that concerted international pressure on Israel to allow Gaza to rebuild will not work. But for now, that seems unlikely, as its most powerful ally, the United States, doesn't seem particularly eager to change the status quo. Sadly, every indication is that the “day after tomorrow” in Gaza will be as painful, destructive and unjust as any “day before”.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of Al Jazeera.