After the cease-fire took effect, hundreds of thousands of people left the temporary shelters they had crowded into across the south and trekked back north.

The Mohammed family had learned from relatives that their home had been destroyed in an airstrike but they had been ready to return as soon as the cease-fire was agreed upon.

"Shrapnel passed by the children while they were sleeping here. It went through the cover while I was here in the tent. The children were sick from fear," Badreya said.