The United Nations said yesterday at least 1.5 million in the Gaza Strip need "emergency assistance", as Palestinians returning to their homes say they are finding only rubble amid a constant struggle for necessities, including food and water.

Many found neighbourhoods razed to the ground, tangled metal and even dangerous weapons where there used to be residential buildings and homes.

Top US diplomat Marco Rubio voiced hope Friday of soon putting together an international force to police the ceasefire in Gaza, as Palestinian factions agreed that a committee of independent technocrats would run the post-war territory.

The secretary of state visited Israel on the heels of Vice President JD Vance as part of an all-out effort by the United States to persuade both Hamas and Israel to respect the truce.

Rubio said it was critical for the deal to create "the conditions for the stabilisation force to come in as soon as it possibly can be put together".

He expressed optimism for a durable end to the two-year Gaza war as he met Israeli, US and other Western forces monitoring the ceasefire from inside a vast converted warehouse in southern Israel.

The main Palestinian factions, including Hamas, said Friday they had agreed during a meeting in Cairo that a temporary Palestinian committee of independent technocrats would take over the running of Gaza.

The committee would "manage the affairs of life and basic services in cooperation with Arab brothers and international institutions", according to a joint statement published on Hamas's website.

Meanwhile, Israeli army hindered access of Palestinians to olive trees, reports Al Jazeera online. "Everybody was fleeing because the settlers attacked suddenly, maybe 100 of them," witness Yasser Alkam told AFP news agency, adding that one Swedish activist also had his arm and leg broken by settlers.

"Fighting back would only bring more violence, sometimes with the army's backing," lamented Nael al-Qouq, a Turmus Aya farmer who was prevented from reaching his olive trees that same day.

Near Turmus Aya, in the village of al-Mughayyir, one villager was prevented from harvesting altogether.

According to a poll published by Israel's Channel 12, 52 percent of respondents believe that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should not run in the next elections.

Of them, 42 percent of respondents said that Netanyahu should run for prime minister again as the leader of his Likud party, while 7 percent said they were unsure about his candidacy, reports Al Jazeera online.