Palestinians find moment of respite in going out to dinner or relaxing in cafes as devastated territory seeks to rebuild

It is a Thursday night in Khan Younis and business is good at the al-Sawafiri restaurant. Not far away, entire blocks have been reduced to rubble, but here, in this small corner of the city in the southern Gaza Strip, the damage is less extensive. Raed al-Sawafiri, the owner and manager, stands in front of chicken rotating on a grill and smiles. Every one of his plastic tables is occupied.

Al-Sawafiri had no experience of the restaurant trade until very recently. Displaced 10 times during the 16-month conflict in Gaza, the 23-year-old opened his first establishment in Rafah, the southernmost city in the territory, early this year, after sourcing old equipment and sending his father to the border with Egypt to buy meat.

Palestinians face a mammoth task to rebuild homes and infrastructure – and Trump is unlikely to help

In the week that Donald Trump called for what has been described as an “ethnic cleansing” of Palestinians from Gaza to rebuild it as a US “riviera” – an idea as unworkable as it is unhinged – the issues of how, if and when Gaza will be reconstructed have returned to the fore.

The reality is that, for all the promises to rehabilitate the coastal strip after previous conflicts, reconstruction – when it has happened – has at best been very partial and always subordinated to Israel’s demands.

The UN secretary general, António Guterres, has called for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages. Guterres warned against 'any form of ethnic cleansing' in Gaza as he addressed the UN committee on the exercise of the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, a day after Donald Trump announced plans for the US to take control of the strip and for Palestinians to be 'resettled' in neighbouring countries. 'In the search for solutions, we must not make the problem worse,' the UN chief said. He said that any durable peace will require 'tangible, irreversible and permanent' progress toward the two-state solution as well as the establishment of an 'independent Palestinian state with Gaza as an integral part'

• Trump officials attempt to walk back president’s comments on Gaza; UN chief warns against ‘ethnic cleansing’ – live

• UN chief warns against ‘ethnic cleansing’ after Trump’s Gaza proposal

Large explosions could be seen in the northern occupied West Bank as Israel destroyed buildings in the Jenin refugee camp. The IDF, which had reportedly placed explosives in the structures, said it was destroying 'terrorist infrastructure'. This is the latest escalation in an IDF assault on the Jenin camp that was launched on 21 January. The UN has expressed concern that the ceasefire in Gaza could be endangered by Israel’s tactics in the West Bank, which have involved what the UN human rights spokesperson labelled 'unnecessary or disproportionate use of force'

• UN concerned by Israeli use of ‘unlawful lethal force’ in West Bank

Palestine Red Crescent Society crews prepare sick and wounded children to be evacuated from Gaza into Egypt as Israel reopens the critical Rafah crossing after nine months. The reopening is part of a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, and allows for medical evacuations for patients with urgent care needs. The crossing is a vital conduit into Gaza, and its closure caused outcry, trapping people with medical needs inside the territory.

• Rafah crossing reopens for Gaza’s sick and injured children after months of closure