As a 12-hour pause begins in Gaza, residents returned to their streets and surveyed what was left of their neighborhoods. Eight-five new bodies were dug out of rubble Saturday morning, and ambulances were still trying to reach other areas in Gaza.

According to reports, the destruction in the past 48 hours far exceeds previous Gaza wars.



Beit Hanoun. People return to find neighborhood in ruins. Residents just stunned. Almost quiet. They're in shock. pic.twitter.com/oILNsVTJI8 — William Booth (@BoothWilliam) July 26, 2014

The U.N. school that was bombed earlier this week was located in Beit Hanoun. This is how a neighborhood looked on Saturday morning.

Beit Hanoun less than a kilometer from Israeli border. pic.twitter.com/JrZZVaSzS7 — William Booth (@BoothWilliam) July 26, 2014

A Palestinian women hauls a television set she salvaged out of her destroyed house in Beit Hanoun.



(Oliver Weiken / EPA)

Shijaiyah was heavily bombarded by Israeli forces. On Sunday alone, 70 civilians died in the Gaza City neighborhood.

Whole blocks of apartment houses destroyed in Shijaiyah. Scale is far far greater than previous Gaza wars. pic.twitter.com/vaZgKcay9Z — William Booth (@BoothWilliam) July 26, 2014

Ambulances struggled to reach the dead. Search crews followed bulldozers that cleared a path forward. There were reports of wounded still trapped in buildings.

Shaja’ia: rescue workers have located many bodies buried in the rubble. #CBC #Gaza pic.twitter.com/61IUgeCgAJ — Derek Stoffel (@DerekStoffelCBC) July 26, 2014

The destruction was taken in by residents and journalists during the 12-hour cease-fire.

Many roads were barely passable, and almost quiet. Women did not wail. The men looked stunned.

Refugees return to destroyed neighbourhoods during Gaza truce http://t.co/uurAIQ7aVmpic.twitter.com/TAlzE4yln4 — Noah Browning (@sheikhNB) July 26, 2014

The scale of the damage from Israeli airstrikes and artillery fire was the worst seen in 19 days. Much of the damage witnessed Saturday occurred in the past 24 to 48 hours.

Parts of Beit Hanoun in the north have been leveled by the Israeli military. Residents try to salvage what they can pic.twitter.com/ex1PkAXfHR — Sharif Kouddous (@sharifkouddous) July 26, 2014

Families in Gaza used an open lot to dig graves, according to NBC News's Ayman Mohyeldin.