The mood is festive in Gaza, as Palestinians swim, drown, loot, and destroy with abandon: Palestinians swim and loot on Gaza’s first day of freedom.

NEVE DEKALIM, Gaza Strip (AFP) - Palestinans celebrated the first day of the “liberation” of Gaza, scavenging through abandoned settlements for booty and taking joyous dips in the once off-limit Mediterranean sea.

If idyllic beach scenes paid testament to the Palestinian people’s desire for normalcy, the grim scenes of men looting the settlement rubble revealed the dark side of the Gaza Strip as Israel ended its 38-year occupation.

The day also had a tragic twist for five people who flocked to the seaside, drowning in the waters that were for so long forbidden to them.

The minute Israeli troops started to exit the Gaza Strip, crowds ripped into the sprawling Gush Katif settlement bloc, home to 15 of the coastal territory’s 21 settlements.

Their mood was anarchic and wild as they attacked the homes of their former neighbours with zeal.