Thousands of Palestinians have turned out in Gaza's Khan Younis to celebrate the wedding of 54 couples who had been unable to tie the knot during Israel's bombardment of the strip.
People scrambled to secure whatever vantage point they could reach, even climbing over the crumbled ruins of buildings, to watch the spectacle.
With as much precision and planning as could be managed after two years of war, the couples lined up to enter the ceremony — the women dressed in matching white gowns with red and gold embroidery, and the men in dark suits and maroon ties.
Many of the newlyweds, as well as those watching on, carried the flags of Palestine and the United Arab Emirates, a significant aid donor and contributor to the wedding.
"I was engaged before the war. I wanted to marry during the war, but all my belongings, the furniture was destroyed, and there was no possibility to get married," 29-year-old groom Omar Shams told the ABC.
"But praise the Lord, our brethren in the UAE contributed to this, and praise the Lord, we got married."
Fellow groom Nae Mousa said it was an important moment for their families and for the broader Gaza community.
"We are a people that deserves to celebrate, and at the same time a people that does not want to display rejoicing because of what happened to us," he said.
"Most of us have a family with a prisoner, with someone wounded, with a martyr.
"But it is an obligation for us to celebrate after two years of what we lived through."
'In spite of the tears and the tyranny'
With drummers and dancers taking to the stage, and the congregation sitting on plastic chairs or simply standing in the street, it was unlikely the special day the couples had dreamed of.
However, many had feared it would never come — and the wedding provided respite from the difficulties of living in massive tent camps for displaced Palestinians across the strip.
"Before the war, I was engaged and we lived in a house, and now I am going to live in a tent in the middle of the destruction and pain that we live in," 17-year-old bride Adeem Eid said.
"I wanted to live in an apartment with furniture and everything, but now everything has been destroyed and the situation is bad.
"I am going to live in a tent, that's what we have, we are patient."
Smiles were etched across the faces of the Palestinians watching, singing and cheering as the couples were introduced.
"In spite of the bombing, destruction, injury, and all on the beloved land of Gaza," another groom, Mohammed Al-Najjar, said.
"In spite of the tears and the tyranny that the residents of Gaza live through, in spite of that we are celebrating this day."
Killing continues during ceasefire
The ceasefire in Gaza had provided the opportunity for the event, following other ceremonies such as school and university graduations.
Even though the truce has technically been in force since October 10, Israeli strikes across the strip have not stopped.
The military insists it is enforcing the deal and targeting Hamas militants for violations of the agreement.
But Palestinian health authorities have reported 356 people killed and more than 900 injuries in Israeli attacks since the ceasefire began more than seven weeks ago, pushing the death toll since October 7, 2023 past 70,000.
A large majority of those are reported to be civilians, and many are women and children.
Over the weekend, the Israeli military said it had opened fire on two "suspects" who crossed the so-called Yellow Line — the boundary of Israeli and Hamas-controlled territory — claiming that the pair were acting suspiciously and posed a threat to soldiers.
Their families later reported the pair, killed by drones, were brothers. The oldest was just 10 years of age.
Three Israeli soldiers have been killed since the ceasefire began, attacked by Hamas fighters inside Israeli-controlled areas.
During the ceasefire, the bodies of at least 26 of the 28 dead Israeli hostages have so far been handed over by Hamas.
Late on Tuesday, more remains were delivered to Israeli authorities to be examined by the country's forensic centre.
The conflict began when Hamas militants led a terror attack on southern Israel, killing about 1,200 by Israeli tallies and taking 251 hostages.
