Gaza City, August 12 (RHC)-- Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have returned home to find their homes in rubble as a 72-hour truce with Israel appears to hold for a second day. The United Nations has called the damage from the Israeli siege "unprecedented" with 30,000 people in need of rehousing in the town of Beit Hanoun alone.

The United Nations has appointed a three-person panel to investigate possible war crimes it says may have been committed during the more than 30 day siege. In Egypt, both sides are continuing talks on a long-term truce, with Palestinians seeking an easing of the crippling economic blockade of Gaza.

In related news, a group of Turkish activists announced plans to challenge the Israeli blockade by sending another aid flotilla to Gaza. In 2010, Israeli commandos stormed a Gaza-bound flotilla, killing 10 Turkish activists, including a U.S. citizen.