Palestinians return to Khan Younis following Israeli forces pullout

A large number of Palestinians made their way to Khan Younis in southern Gaza to inspect the destruction caused by Israel’s attack and salvage any belongings that were salvageable.This happened after the Israeli military said they were pulling out their troops from the area.

Many people returned to the second biggest city in the Gaza Strip and found that their old home looked very different. Many buildings were destroyed or damaged, and now there are piles of rubble where apartments and businesses used to be. The streets have been destroyed by bulldozers. The fighting broke the schools and hospitals.

In December, Israel sent soldiers to Khan Younis as part of their strong ground attack. This was in response to an attack led by Hamas in October. 7 to the south of Israel. Israeli officials say that 1,200 people, mostly innocent people, were killed and about 250 people were taken as hostages.

The ongoing war has been going on for seven months and has caused the deaths of more than 33,000 Palestinians, with most of them being women and children. It has also forced nearly all of the 2. 3 million people living there to leave their homes and has made large parts of the Gaza Strip unlivable.

“Many places, like the city center, have become unsuitable to live,” said Mahmoud Abdel-Ghani, who left Khan Younis in December when Israel started its ground invasion of the city. “My house and my neighbors’ houses were destroyed. ”

Israel pulled its troops out of Khan Younis, which means they finished an important part of their fight against Hamas. This also means there are fewer Israeli troops in the area now.

Israel said the city was a big place for Hamas and they have done an operation in the past few months that killed many militants and destroyed many tunnels used by Hamas to move weapons and fighters. It also said that it found proof that hostages were kept in the city.

Hamas might try to regroup in the city because there are no military forces there. They have done this in other places when the military reduced their presence.

The most recent Israeli pullout allowed some Palestinians to return to the area and search through the piles of rubble to keep any belongings they still had.

Najwa Ayyash, who was also forced to leave Khan Younis, said she couldn’t get to her family’s apartment on the third floor because the stairs were gone. Her brother climbed up through the broken stuff and got some things, like lighter clothes for her kids.

Bassel Abu Nasser, who lives in Khan Younis, had to leave his home after it was hit by a bomb. He said the city is mostly destroyed.

“The 37-year-old father of two children said there is no meaning in life there. ” “They didn’t leave anything there. ”

On Sunday, right after the military said they had left, many Palestinians were seen leaving Khan Younis with few belongings.

They walked and rode bikes, carrying plastic bags and laundry baskets with whatever they could find back to where they were forced to leave. One person had a rolled-up mattress. Another fan is standing. A man used his bike to carry plywood.

Many soldiers are leaving Khan Younis before Israel attacks Rafah. Lots of people have already left other places to find safety there. Israel thinks Rafah is the main place where Hamas is still strong.

The city is home to about 1. 4 million people, which is more than half of Gaza’s population. The idea of an attack has worried people around the world, including the US, which is a close friend of Israel. The US wants to see a good plan to keep civilians safe.

Letting people go back to Khan Younis nearby could help ease some of the stress in Rafah, but lots of them don’t have homes to go back to. The city may have a lot of dangerous bombs that didn’t explode during the fighting.

Israel’s army quietly reduced the number of soldiers in the heavily damaged northern Gaza region earlier in the conflict. However, it has kept doing airstrikes and attacks in places where it claims Hamas has gathered again, such as Gaza’s biggest hospital, Shifa. This has caused the head of the World Health Organization to describe the hospital as “an empty shell. ” Israel says it holds Hamas responsible for the destruction, as they claim Hamas operates from civilian areas.

Khan Younis’ main Nasser Hospital was attacked by Israeli soldiers earlier this year because they believed hostages were inside.

It was not clear what condition the hospital was in after the troops left. The video from the hospital showed that the emergency building looked okay, but inside it was very messy with debris. Many people had to leave because the military made them go.

Israel is attacking Hamas to stop their military and government power and to free about 130 hostages. They say that about 25% of the hostages have died. Qatar, Egypt, and the US are trying to make a deal for a cease-fire and the release of hostages.