GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Gaza residents crowded banks, vegetable markets and shops Thursday, taking advantage of a brief cease-fire that offered the first respite from 10 days of fierce fighting between Hamas and Israel, while the conflict looked set to resume within hours.
The truce was briefly thrown into doubt when Gaza militants fired three mortar shells toward Israel after the truce took effect at 10 a.m. local time, but it appeared to be an isolated incident, and Israel did not respond.
Gaza City, a virtual ghost town for the past 10 days, returned to apparent normalcy within minutes of the start of the truce.
Streets were jammed, motorists honked horns and Hamas police directed traffic at busy intersections.
Traffic jam now in gaza city as people try to rush for shopping. Still queues at banks— anne paq (@annepaq) July 17, 2014
Gaza people out & about. Not seen in 10 days: traffic jams! pic.twitter.com/qDwKpPU61Z— William Booth (@BoothWilliam) July 17, 2014
Crowds of hundreds formed outside banks, with people jostling and shouting to get to ATM machines.
In an outdoor market, shoppers filled plastic bags with fruit, vegetables and freshly slaughtered chickens.
Wow! The #Gaza City central market is buzzing. People taking advantage of 5-hr ceasefire to stock up #c4news pic.twitter.com/8SajZHt9Gf— Jonathan Miller (@millerC4) July 17, 2014
Crowds fill local markets in Gaza during 5-hour ceasefire to buy much needed supplies after 10-days of bombardment pic.twitter.com/gnN2C4AH0Q— Sharif Kouddous (@sharifkouddous) July 17, 2014
The rush to restock signaled that Gaza residents don't expect a quick end to the fighting. Egypt renewed cease-fire efforts after its initial attempt collapsed earlier in the week, but the demands of Israel and Hamas remain far apart.
"'The situation is likely to get worse because there is no clear way out of it," said Moussa Amran, 43, a money changer in central Gaza City.
Thursday's temporary truce, brokered by the United Nations, came after Israel carried out nearly 2,000 air strikes on Gaza over 10 days and Hamas fired more than 1,300 rockets into Israel, reaching the country's economic and cultural heartland. The cross-border fighting has so far killed more than 230 Palestinians and an Israeli, according to officials.
The truce comes one day after four children were killed while playing soccer on a Gaza City beach -- an incident witnessed by dozens of foreign journalists staying in a nearby hotel. Channel 4's Jonathan Miller was there and wrote about what he saw for Mashable.
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Mashable's Brian Ries contributed to this report.