When the soldiers withdrew from Khan Younis, the people of that city began the familiar and heartbreaking walk home, some on foot, some on carts and bicycles, carrying hope toward streets that no longer existed. Across Gaza's second largest city, apartment blocks had been ground into rubble by weeks of fighting, and many families who returned found only the shelter of a tent and the memory of what they had lost. The withdrawal, officials insist, is less a retreat than a repositioning, as attention turns toward Rafah, where 1.4 million people are sheltering and where a long-threatened assault n
Thousands of Gaza Families Return to Find Khan Younis Homes Reduced to Rubble After Israeli Withdrawal
Palestinian medics said 42 bodies were recovered from rubble, and families returning to destroyed homes face unfit living conditions, with many left with only tents.
Apartment blocks were reduced to piles of rubble
Mark
Why does the return to Khan Younis matter beyond the damage itself?
Mimi
Because people came back believing the withdrawal meant they could resume living there. Instead they found apartment blocks reduced to rubble, and many have to go back to tents.
Mark
What did the people returning actually say?
Mimi
Mahmoud Abdel-Ghani, who fled in December, said many areas are unfit for life and that his and his neighbours' houses were rubble. Bassel Abu Nasser, 37, said there's no sense of life.
Luke
Those are individual accounts. The report says thousands returned, but gives no count or source for that figure.
Mark
And the 42 bodies?
Mimi
Palestinian medics said they were recovered from the rubble. The report also says no aid agencies are working in the city.
Luke
That figure is attributed to medics, not independently confirmed in the piece. We also don't know whether it's a final tally.
Mark
Is the withdrawal an end to the fighting there?
Mimi
Israeli military chiefs call it tactical, preparing for a Rafah assault. One brigade stayed, and Sinwar remained at large.
Luke
The tactical framing is the military's own. And Netanyahu saying a date is set doesn't tell us the date, which is still unknown.
Il Polso
- Thousands of Palestinians are streaming back into Khan Younis on foot, by tractor, and by donkey cart, only to find their apartment blocks flattened.
- Medics have recovered 42 bodies from the rubble, and no aid agencies are operating in the city to help the living.
- Israeli military chiefs call the pullout a tactical move to prepare for an all-out assault on Rafah, where 1.4 million Gazans are sheltering.
- Prime Minister Netanyahu says a date has been set and vows to proceed despite pressure from allies, while Cairo peace talks have stalled with no progress reported.
- Families are left with tents and salvaged belongings, and the looming Rafah operation threatens to bring the same devastation to an even more crowded refuge.
When the soldiers withdrew from Khan Younis, the people of that city began the familiar and heartbreaking walk home, some on foot, some on carts and bicycles, carrying hope toward streets that no longer existed. Across Gaza's second largest city, apartment blocks had been ground into rubble by weeks of fighting, and many families who returned found only the shelter of a tent and the memory of what they had lost. The withdrawal, officials insist, is less a retreat than a repositioning, as attention turns toward Rafah, where 1.4 million people are sheltering and where a long-threatened assault now has a date. Meanwhile the diplomatic routes that might have eased the suffering remain stalled in Cairo, leaving a grieving population caught between the ruins of one city and the feared arrival of another.
On the day after Israeli troops pulled out of Khan Younis, thousands of Palestinians began walking back into the city. Some came on foot, others on tractor trailers, carriages, bicycles, and donkey carts, all hoping to resume their lives. In many cases, there was nothing left to return to. Apartment blocks across Gaza's second largest city had been flattened by weeks of intense fighting, and many families gathered what they could salvage and turned toward a tent as their only shelter.
Mahmoud Abdel-Ghani, who had fled in December, said many areas had become unfit for life, his own home and his neighbours' reduced to rubble. Bassel Abu Nasser, a 37-year-old father of two, summed it up more simply: there was no sense of life there.
Khan Younis has been a major battleground since December, when the Israel Defence Forces moved in to hunt Hamas fighters in a tunnel network, and it is the home city of Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar, whom Israel has been desperate to capture or kill. Palestinian medics have recovered 42 bodies from the rubble, and no aid agencies are working there.
Israeli military chiefs say the pullout prepares for an all-out assault on Rafah, where 1.4 million Gazans are sheltering. Prime Minister Netanyahu says a date has been set and vows to proceed despite allies' objections. Diplomacy offers little relief, as talks in Cairo have stalled with no progress, and the people of Khan Younis are left to rebuild from nothing while the next offensive looms.
On the day after Israeli troops pulled out of Khan Younis, thousands of Palestinians started walking back into the city. Some came on foot. Others came on trailers hauled by tractors, on carriages, on bicycles, in donkey-drawn carts. They were hoping to pick up their lives. What they found, in many cases, was that there was nothing left to pick up.
Apartment blocks across Gaza's second biggest city had been flattened into piles of rubble after weeks of intense fighting. Many of the returning families had no option but to gather whatever they could salvage and go back to where they had come from. For a lot of them, that means a tent.
Mahmoud Abdel-Ghani, who fled the city in December, said many areas had become unfit for life. His own house and those of his neighbours, he said, had turned to rubble. Bassel Abu Nasser, a 37-year-old father of two, put it more briefly: there was no sense of life there.
Khan Younis has been a major battleground since December, when the Israel Defence Forces moved in to hunt Hamas fighters in a tunnel network the report puts at 100 miles long. It is also the home city of Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar, whom the paper describes as Gaza's Bin Laden. Israel has been desperate to capture or kill him, but he remained at large as all but one of the Israeli brigades left.
The human toll of the fighting is still being counted. Palestinian medics said 42 bodies had been recovered from the rubble. The report states that no aid agencies are working in the city.
Israeli military chiefs insisted the pullout was a tactical move, made to prepare for an all-out assault on Rafah, on the border. Rafah is described as Hamas's final stronghold, and 1.4 million Gazans are sheltering there. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that night that a date had been set for the push, and the paper notes he is defying allies by vowing to go ahead, while insisting Israel will not accept a Gaza peace deal.
Diplomacy offered little relief. Talks in Cairo stalled, and a Hamas official said there was no progress.
In Britain, Downing Street denied claims of a Cabinet split over Gaza. Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden had defended the government's refusal to suspend arms sales to Israel, while Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron said support for Israel was not unconditional. Rishi Sunak's spokesman said Britain continues to support Israel's right to self-defence. Lord Cameron was due in Washington the following day and is not expected to announce a suspension of arms sales.
What to watch now is the Rafah operation, for which Netanyahu says a date exists, and whether the stalled Cairo talks move at all before it begins.
Citazioni salienti
There's no sense of life.— Bassel Abu Nasser, 37, returning resident
Many areas have become unfit for life.— Mahmoud Abdel-Ghani, who fled in December
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