Palestinians returning to Khan Younis after Israeli withdrawal find unrecognizable city

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DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — Surprised Palestinians discovered their residence metropolis unrecognizable Monday as they filtered in to salvage what they might from the huge destruction left by Israeli troops who withdrew from southern Gaza’s Khan Younis a day earlier after months of preventing and bombardment.

With 1000’s of buildings destroyed or broken, households tried to seek out their properties alongside streets bulldozed right down to the filth, surrounded by landscapes of rubble and particles that have been as soon as blocks of flats and companies. On different blocks, buildings nonetheless stood however have been gutted shells, scorched and stuffed with holes, with partly shattered higher flooring dangling off precipitously.

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The scenes in Khan Younis underscored what has been one of many world’s most harmful and deadly navy assaults in current many years, leaving a lot of the tiny coastal territory unlivable for its 2.3 million folks. It additionally portended what’s more likely to occur in Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah, the place half of Gaza’s uprooted inhabitants is now crowded into, if Israel goes forward with plans to invade it.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu escalated his pledge to take the offensive to Rafah, declaring in a video assertion Monday, “It can occur. There’s a date,” with out elaborating. He spoke as Israeli negotiators have been in Cairo discussing worldwide efforts to dealer a ceasefire take care of Hamas.

Magdy Abu Sahrour was shocked to see his home in Khan Younis flattened.

“I couldn’t discover my residence due to all of the destruction,” he mentioned, standing in entrance of the rubble. “The place is my place, the place is my residence?”

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Israel despatched troops into Khan Younis in December, a part of its blistering floor offensive that got here in response to Hamas’ Oct. 7 assault and hostage-taking into southern Israel. Its withdrawal introduced Israeli troops within the tiny coastal enclave to one of many lowest for the reason that struggle started.

The struggle, now in its seventh month, has killed greater than 33,000 Palestinians, largely ladies and youngsters, based on native well being authorities. Israeli authorities say 1,200 folks, largely civilians, have been killed and roughly 250 folks have been taken hostage in Hamas’ Oct. 7 assault.

Most of the 1000’s who got here to Khan Younis by foot and on donkey carts on Monday have been sheltering in Rafah. The withdrawal gave them an opportunity to see the wreckage of their properties and retrieve some possessions. However with the town now unlivable, they mentioned they’d little fast probability to return.

An estimated 55% of the buildings within the Khan Younis space — about 45,000 buildings — have been destroyed or broken, based on Corey Scher of Metropolis College of New York and Jamon Van Den Hoek of Oregon State College, two mapping consultants who’ve been utilizing satellite tv for pc imagery to trace destruction.

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“The place do I sleep? The place do I’m going?” Heba Sahloul’s aged mom sobbed in despair, sitting amid the rubble of the household’s lounge. Her daughters looked for something they might take with them. The room’s partitions have been blown away and the ground was piled with chunks of concrete, slabs of the ceiling and damaged counter tops. Solely the columns painted pink gave any signal it had as soon as been their residence.

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Sahloul mentioned Israeli troops ordered them to depart in the course of the preventing. “We left all our issues right here, and we went out with solely our garments,” she mentioned. Her father was killed earlier within the assault, leaving Sahloul, her sisters and her mom. “We’re solely six ladies at residence and we have no idea the place to go,” Sahloul mentioned.

One girl clambered over collapsed concrete slabs atop a mountain of her residence’s wreckage. Her son crawled on all fours right into a hole beneath the rubble and twisted rebar, clearing away concrete blocks.

“There aren’t any phrases to explain the ache inside me,” the girl mentioned, her voice breaking. “Our recollections, our goals, our childhood right here, our household … It’s all gone.” The lady, who recognized herself solely by her first title, Hanan, put just a few objects they discovered right into a backpack, together with a plastic crimson flower.

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Khan Younis’ important Nasser Hospital was trashed inside, with particles strewn across the wards and ceiling panels collapsed. The outside appeared largely intact, however the extent of the injury was not instantly clear. Israeli troops stormed the ability in the course of the offensive, saying they believed the stays of hostages have been inside, although they didn’t report discovering any.

Israel mentioned Khan Younis was a serious Hamas stronghold and that its operations there killed 1000’s of militants and inflicted heavy injury to an enormous community of tunnels utilized by Hamas to maneuver weapons and fighters. It additionally claimed to have discovered proof that hostages have been held within the metropolis.

With the troops’ withdrawal, Hamas might search to regroup there because it has in northern Gaza, the place the navy scaled again forces earlier.

Israel plans to invade Rafah, which it says is Hamas’ final main stronghold, have raised world alarm over the destiny of about 1.4 million Palestinians sheltering there. Israel’s prime ally, the U.S., has mentioned invading Rafah can be a mistake and has demanded a reputable plan to guard civilians.

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Israel is buying 40,000 tents to organize for the evacuation of Rafah, an Israel official mentioned, talking on situation of anonymity as a result of they weren’t licensed to talk to the media. It was not clear the place they might be arrange and the way many individuals they might home. Permitting folks to return to Khan Younis might relieve some stress on Rafah, however many haven’t any properties to return to.

In northern Gaza, the Israeli navy has continued to hold out airstrikes and raids in areas the place it says Hamas regrouped. Final month, troops stormed Gaza’s largest hospital, Shifa, in a raid that triggered two weeks of preventing in and across the facility. Israel says it killed some 200 Hamas fighters within the raid, however hospital officers say many civilians have been among the many useless.

On Monday, forensic consultants from Gaza’s Well being Ministry have been nonetheless eradicating our bodies from the yard of Shifa Hospital, the place the primary buildings have been left as burned-out shattered husks. Staff lifted physique components out of the filth and put them into plastic sacks. It was not clear what number of have been current useless and what number of got here from a mass grave that was dug within the hospital in November to bury struggle casualties.

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Hussein Muhaisen, director of ambulances within the Gaza Strip, mentioned the variety of useless was nonetheless not identified. He mentioned he discovered the our bodies of a girl and youngsters whose palms have been certain. His account couldn’t be independently confirmed. Israel says no civilians have been killed throughout its raid.

Israel says its struggle goals to destroy Hamas’ navy and governing capabilities and return the roughly 130 remaining hostages, 1 / 4 of whom Israel says are useless.

Negotiations mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the U.S. over a ceasefire and alternate of captives proceed. However Israel and Hamas seem to stay far aside. In a press release Monday, Hamas mentioned the newest response it has acquired from Israel doesn’t embody a everlasting creasefire or the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. It has repeatedly mentioned each phrases are non-negotiable, whereas Israel has firmly rejected them.

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