Fifty days of terror – in which more than 2100 Palestinians and 69 Israelis were killed – has come to an end with a ceasefire agreement that loosens controls on Gaza's borders but has yet to tackle the underlying issues of the seven-year long siege that has crippled the tiny coastal strip.

More than a quarter of Gaza's population – at least 475,000 people – are displaced and the destruction is so widespread that development experts say it could take up to 10 years to rebuild some of Gaza's critical infrastructure.

The terms of the Egyptian-negotiated ceasefire – the eighth ceasefire since hostilities broke out on July 8 – mostly mirror those in the agreement that brought to an end to the November 2012 Gaza war, in which 167 Palestinians and six Israelis died.

Hamas and other militant groups in Gaza will halt all rocket and mortar fire into Israel, and Israel will stop all military action, including air strikes and ground operations, in Gaza.