DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) \u2014 Streams of Palestinians filed into the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis on Monday to salvage what they could from the\u00a0vast destruction\u00a0left in the wake of Israel\u2019s offensive, a day after the Israeli military announced it was\u00a0withdrawing troops from the area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Those returning found their hometown, Gaza\u2019s second largest city, unrecognizable, with thousands of buildings destroyed or damaged. Men, women and children went down streets bulldozed into stretches of dirt, searching for their homes among fields of rubble and debris that were once blocks of apartments and businesses. On other blocks, buildings still stood but were gutted shells, scorched and full of holes, with partially shattered upper floors dangling off precipitously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The scenes of the city underscored what has been\u00a0one of world\u2019s most destructive and lethal\u00a0military assaults in recent decades, which has left vast swaths of the tiny coastal territory unlivable for its 2.3 million people. It also portended what is likely to happen in\u00a0Gaza\u2019s southernmost town of Rafah, where half of Gaza\u2019s uprooted population is now crowded, if Israel goes ahead with plans to invade it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Magdy Abu Sahrour was stunned, seeing his house in Khan Younis flattened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI couldn\u2019t find my home because of all the destruction,\u201d he said as he stood in front of the rubble. \u201cWhere is my place, where is my home? \u2026 It\u2019s a tragic situation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Israel sent troops into Khan Younis in December, part of its blistering ground offensive that came in response to Hamas\u2019 Oct. 7 attack and hostage-taking into southern Israel. Its withdrawal brought Israeli troops in the tiny coastal enclave to one of the lowest since the war began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The war, now\u00a0in its seventh month, has killed more than 33,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to local health authorities. Israeli authorities say 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed and roughly 250 people taken\u00a0hostage\u00a0in Hamas\u2019 Oct. 7 attack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many of the thousands who filtered into Khan Younis by foot and on donkey cart on Monday have been sheltering in Rafah since they fled their homes. The withdrawal gave them a chance to see the wreckage of their homes and retrieve a few possessions. But with the city now unlivable, they said they had little immediate chance to return.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
An estimated 55% of the buildings in the Khan Younis area \u2013 around 45,000 buildings \u2013 have been destroyed or damaged, according to the latest figures from two researchers in the U.S. who have been using satellite imagery to track destruction throughout the war — Corey Scher of City University of New York and Jamon Van Den Hoek of Oregon State University.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mahmoud Abdel-Ghani, who fled to Rafah in December, found his and his neighbors\u2019 houses flattened. \u201cMany areas, especially the city center, have become unfit for life,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One woman clambered over slabs of collapsed concrete atop a mountain of wreckage that was once her home. Her son crawled on all fours into a hollow under the rubble and twisted rebar, clearing away concrete blocks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere are no words to describe the pain inside me,\u201d the woman said, her voice breaking. \u201cOur memories, our dreams, our childhood here, our family — we were raised with them here \u2026 It\u2019s all gone.\u201d The woman, who identified herself only by her first name, Hanan, put a few items they found into a backpack, including a plastic red flower.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Khan Younis\u2019 main Nasser Hospital was trashed inside, with debris strewn around the wards and ceiling panels collapsed. The exterior appeared largely intact, but the extent of the damage was not immediately clear. Israeli troops stormed the facility during the offensive, saying they believed the remains of hostages were inside, though they did not report finding any.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Israel said Khan Younis was a major Hamas stronghold and that its operations there killed thousands of militants and inflicted heavy damage to a vast network of tunnels used by Hamas to move weapons and fighters. It also claimed to have found evidence that hostages were held in the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With the troops\u2019 withdrawal, Hamas could seek to regroup there as it has in northern Gaza, where the military scaled back forces earlier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Israel says it still intends\u00a0to invade Rafah, which it says is Hamas\u2019 last major stronghold. That has raised international alarm over the fate of the around 1.4 million Palestinians sheltering there, most displaced from other parts of the Gaza Strip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Israel\u2019s top ally, the U.S., has said invading Rafah would be a mistake and has demanded to see a credible plan to protect civilians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Israel is purchasing 40,000 tents to prepare for the evacuation of Rafah, an Israel official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Allowing people to return to Khan Younis could relieve some pressure on Rafah, but many have no homes to return to. The city also is likely filled with dangerous unexploded ordnance left by the fighting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Israel\u2019s top ally, the U.S., has said invading Rafah would be a mistake and has demanded to see a credible plan to protect civilians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Israel is purchasing 40,000 tents to prepare for the evacuation of Rafah, an Israel official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Allowing people to return to Khan Younis could relieve some pressure on Rafah, but many have no homes to return to. The city also is likely filled with dangerous unexploded ordnance left by the fighting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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