Thousands of Palestinians return to Khan Younis as IDF withdraws

Thousands of Palestinians are coming home in Khan Younis after the Israeli military announced the end of a week-long operation in the southern Gaza city.
Last Monday, Israeli troops re-entered the city after officials reported Hamas was seeking “to reassemble its forces there”. Two UN organizations said that some 150,000 Palestinians were forced to abandon their homes before to the operation.
On Tuesday, Israel Defence Forces (IDF) authorities stated more than 150 gunmen had been killed during the week-long operation.
However, the Hamas-run Gaza media office said that at least 250 Palestinians were killed and more than 300 injured during the battle. Thirty additional people are still missing, they claimed.
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On Tuesday, charity workers were observed in Khan Younis’ streets gathering dead bodies and covering them in rugs before bringing them to morgues across the city, according to Reuters.
Thousands of Palestinians, many carrying their belongings, returned to the city after Israeli soldiers retreated, with many reporting serious damage to their houses. Most people arrived on foot.
Witnesses informed Reuters that the IDF had demolished the major cemetery in Bani Suhaila, a village on Khan Younis’ eastern borders. They also reported damage to nearby homes and highways.
According to the Hamas-run media office, Israeli missiles hit around 300 residences during the operation, 30 of which were claimed to be inhabited at the time.

Some returning inhabitants claimed to have been displaced from their houses several times previously.
“I am coming back, and I believe in God. “I’m not sure if we’ll live or die, but it’s all for the sake of the homeland,” said Etimad Al-Masri. She’d been compelled to travel 5 kilometers (3 miles) in the scorching heat.
Israeli soldiers had already retreated from Khan Younis in April following months of fierce combat, with commanders claiming that their goals in the region had been met.
Thousands of Palestinians eventually returned, particularly when IDF operations in Rafah began in early May.

But IDF troops have spent the past several weeks launching renewed assaults on areas it had previously left, saying it is seeking to prevent Hamas from regrouping.

Elsewhere, Israel has ordered thousands of people to leave their homes in the central al-Bureij area. It comes as strikes have begun ahead of a possible new operation in the area.

Since the conflict began in October more than 39,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to Gaza’s health ministry.

The war started when Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostage.