Deir al-Balah Scores of Palestinians entered the southern Gaza town of Kha Yunis on Monday to salvage what they could from massive destruction in the wake of the Israeli offensive, a day after the Israeli army announced that Withdrawal of army from the area. ,
Many returned to the Gaza Strip's second-largest city and found their hometowns unrecognizable. With hundreds of buildings destroyed or damaged, piles of debris now lie where apartments and businesses once stood. Bulldozers have been used on the roads. Schools and hospitals were damaged by the fighting.
Israel sent troops to Khan Younis in December as part of its massive ground offensive in response to a Hamas-led offensive in southern Israel on October 7.Israeli officials say 1,200 people were killed, mostly civilians, and about 250 were taken hostage. The war, now in its seventh month, has killed more than 33,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials. The conflict has displaced most of the territory's 2.3 million people, mostly women and children, and left large parts of the Gaza Strip uninhabitable.
"Many areas, especially the center of the city, have become unsuitable for living," says Mahmoud Abdel-Ghani, who fled Khan Younis in December when Israel launched a ground offensive on the city. "I saw my house and my neighbors' houses turned into debris."
The withdrawal of Israeli forces from Khan Yunis signaled the end of a key phase of its war against Hamas and brought Israeli troop levels in the small Costa enclave to one of the lowest since the war began.Israel said the city was a major Hamas stronghold and that its operations over the past few months had killed thousands of militants and caused extensive damage to the vast network of tunnels used by Hamas to transport weapons and fighters. It was also claimed that evidence had been found that hostages were being held in the city.
With no military presence in the city, Hamas may try to regroup there as it has done in other areas where the military has reduced forces.
The latest Israeli withdrawal also cleared the way for some Palestinians to return to the area through mountains of debris to try to capture any property that remained. Najwa Ayyash, who was displaced from Khan Yunis, Said she was unable to reach her family's third-floor apartment because the stairs were missing.Her brother climbed up the path of destruction and pulled down some possessions, including light clothing for his children.
Khan Yunis resident Bassel Abu Nasser, who fled after an airstrike on his home in January, said much of the city had been reduced to rubble. "There's no point in life there," said the 37-year-old father of two. Said, "They didn't leave anything there."
On Sunday, shortly after the army announced its withdrawal, Palestinians could be seen abandoning what little property they owned near Khan Younis.
On foot and by bicycle, they carried whatever they could collect, along with plastic bags and laundry hampers, to where they were displaced.One kept the mattress wrapped. Another standing fan. A man uses his bike to remove plywood.The military exodus from Khan Yunis comes ahead of a possible Israeli offensive on Gaza's southernmost city, Rafah, where hundreds of thousands of people have fled fighting elsewhere to seek refuge and which Israel Said to be the main stronghold of Hamas.
The city shelters approximately 1.4 million people – more than half of Gaza's population. The possibility of an offensive has raised global concern, including in Israel's top ally, the US, which has demanded to see a credible plan to protect civilians.Allowing people to return to nearby Khan Yunis could relieve some of the pressure on Rafah, but many do not have homes to return to. The city is also littered with dangerous unexploded bombs, possibly left during the fighting. Israel's military quietly withdrew its troops from devastated northern Gaza early in the war. But it has continued airstrikes and raids in areas where it says Hamas has regrouped, including on Gaza's largest hospital, Shifa, which the head of the World Health Organization described as "a Said to be "an empty shell". Israel blamed Hamas for the damage and said it fights from within civilian areas.The main Nasser hospital in Khan Younis was also the target of an Israeli attack earlier this year, as the military said the remains of hostages were inside.
The exact status of the hospital after the withdrawal of troops was unclear. Hospital video showed the emergency building was intact, but its interior was strewn with debris, where thousands of displaced people once sought shelter before being forced to evacuate by the military. Israel says its The war aims to destroy Hamas' military and governance capabilities and return about 130 remaining hostages, about a quarter of whom Israel says are dead. Talks are underway with the mediation of Qatar, Egypt and the US to bring about a ceasefire in exchange for the release of the hostages.
Many returned to the Gaza Strip's second-largest city and found their hometowns unrecognizable. With hundreds of buildings destroyed or damaged, piles of debris now lie where apartments and businesses once stood. Bulldozers have been used on the roads. Schools and hospitals were damaged by the fighting.
Israel sent troops to Khan Younis in December as part of its massive ground offensive in response to a Hamas-led offensive in southern Israel on October 7.Israeli officials say 1,200 people were killed, mostly civilians, and about 250 were taken hostage. The war, now in its seventh month, has killed more than 33,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials. The conflict has displaced most of the territory's 2.3 million people, mostly women and children, and left large parts of the Gaza Strip uninhabitable.
"Many areas, especially the center of the city, have become unsuitable for living," says Mahmoud Abdel-Ghani, who fled Khan Younis in December when Israel launched a ground offensive on the city. "I saw my house and my neighbors' houses turned into debris."
The withdrawal of Israeli forces from Khan Yunis signaled the end of a key phase of its war against Hamas and brought Israeli troop levels in the small Costa enclave to one of the lowest since the war began.Israel said the city was a major Hamas stronghold and that its operations over the past few months had killed thousands of militants and caused extensive damage to the vast network of tunnels used by Hamas to transport weapons and fighters. It was also claimed that evidence had been found that hostages were being held in the city.
With no military presence in the city, Hamas may try to regroup there as it has done in other areas where the military has reduced forces.
The latest Israeli withdrawal also cleared the way for some Palestinians to return to the area through mountains of debris to try to capture any property that remained. Najwa Ayyash, who was displaced from Khan Yunis, Said she was unable to reach her family's third-floor apartment because the stairs were missing.Her brother climbed up the path of destruction and pulled down some possessions, including light clothing for his children.
Khan Yunis resident Bassel Abu Nasser, who fled after an airstrike on his home in January, said much of the city had been reduced to rubble. "There's no point in life there," said the 37-year-old father of two. Said, "They didn't leave anything there."
On Sunday, shortly after the army announced its withdrawal, Palestinians could be seen abandoning what little property they owned near Khan Younis.
On foot and by bicycle, they carried whatever they could collect, along with plastic bags and laundry hampers, to where they were displaced.One kept the mattress wrapped. Another standing fan. A man uses his bike to remove plywood.The military exodus from Khan Yunis comes ahead of a possible Israeli offensive on Gaza's southernmost city, Rafah, where hundreds of thousands of people have fled fighting elsewhere to seek refuge and which Israel Said to be the main stronghold of Hamas.
The city shelters approximately 1.4 million people – more than half of Gaza's population. The possibility of an offensive has raised global concern, including in Israel's top ally, the US, which has demanded to see a credible plan to protect civilians.Allowing people to return to nearby Khan Yunis could relieve some of the pressure on Rafah, but many do not have homes to return to. The city is also littered with dangerous unexploded bombs, possibly left during the fighting. Israel's military quietly withdrew its troops from devastated northern Gaza early in the war. But it has continued airstrikes and raids in areas where it says Hamas has regrouped, including on Gaza's largest hospital, Shifa, which the head of the World Health Organization described as "a Said to be "an empty shell". Israel blamed Hamas for the damage and said it fights from within civilian areas.The main Nasser hospital in Khan Younis was also the target of an Israeli attack earlier this year, as the military said the remains of hostages were inside.
The exact status of the hospital after the withdrawal of troops was unclear. Hospital video showed the emergency building was intact, but its interior was strewn with debris, where thousands of displaced people once sought shelter before being forced to evacuate by the military. Israel says its The war aims to destroy Hamas' military and governance capabilities and return about 130 remaining hostages, about a quarter of whom Israel says are dead. Talks are underway with the mediation of Qatar, Egypt and the US to bring about a ceasefire in exchange for the release of the hostages.
