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Palestinians inspect damage to a building in the central Gaza city of Nuseirat on 18 April. (AFP/Getty Images)

Dozens of Palestinians visited the Nusayrat neighborhood in central Gaza last week after Israeli forces withdrew from the area.

Images from CNN show the destroyed interiors of buildings hit by the bombing, as men and children stood on huge mounds of debris. A Palestinian boy was seen sitting on a white sofa surrounded by pink pillows, old blankets and overturned concrete slabs in the Nussirat refugee camp. Gaza residents say they were desperately trying to save valuables from homes destroyed by Israeli attacks as they surveyed the frightened area.

“On the second day of Eid, rockets started falling on us,” displaced resident Abu Mohammed Farjallah told CNN on April 18. “We returned to the attacked houses and buildings after a week, (but) there is no place to live.”

Palestinians living in the Nuseirat refugee camp collect useful items from the debris of destroyed buildings, following Israel’s withdrawal from the northern Nuseirat camp in Deir al-Balah, Gaza, on April 18. (Ashraf Amra/Anadolu/Getty Images)

Palestinian officials told CNN that earlier this month, Israeli forces withdrew from Nussirat, leaving behind piles of debris, damaging residential buildings and destroying water, sanitation and waste collection services. Gaza civil defense spokesman Mahmoud Bassal said at least 500 people were killed, injured or missing in Israeli attacks on the neighborhood. CNN cannot confirm the estimate and has contacted the Israeli military about the scope and purpose of its strikes in Nussirat.

Another resident, Hassan Al Habbash, compared the devastation to an “earthquake”.

Hassan al Habbash, a doctor, told CNN that he returned to Nusseirat in central Gaza on April 18 and found that his house had been “demolished.” (CNN)

“We have never seen such destruction in history,” said the doctor, who wore glasses and had a gray beard. “I came back and found that my house had been demolished.”

“This destruction reflects hatred, anger,” said one woman, as she dug through piles of stuffed animals and other dust-covered items, “these are remnants of memories, what was left of our lives.”