Netanyahu says there is a “date” for the invasion of Rafah in Gaza

DEIR BALAH (Gaza Strip) – Stunned Palestinians found their city no longer recognizable on Monday as they pushed in to salvage what they could of… Widespread destruction left behind by Israeli forces It withdrew from the city of Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip, the day before After months of fighting and bombing.

With thousands of buildings destroyed or damaged, families tried to find their homes along streets destroyed by bulldozers, surrounded by a landscape of rubble and debris that were once residential complexes and businesses. In other blocks the buildings were still standing but were ruined, burned-out shells riddled with holes, the upper floors partly destroyed and sagging steeply.

The scenes in Khan Yunis shed light on what happened One of the most destructive and deadly in the world Military attacks in recent decades, making most of the small coastal land uninhabitable for its 2.3 million people. It also portends what may happen in it The city of Rafah, south of the Gaza Stripwhere half of Gaza's displaced population is now crowded, if Israel goes ahead with its invasion plans.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu escalated his pledge to move the attack to Rafah, declaring in a video statement on Monday that “this will happen.” There is a date,” he said, without going into details. He spoke while Israeli negotiators were in Cairo discussing international efforts to broker a ceasefire agreement with Hamas.

Majdi Abu Srour was shocked when he saw his house in Khan Yunis razed to the ground.

“I couldn't find my house because of all the destruction,” he said, standing in front of the rubble. “Where is my place, where is my home?”

Israel sent forces to Khan Yunis in December, as part of its violent ground offensive in response to the October 7 Hamas attack and hostage-taking in southern Israel. Its withdrawal brought Israeli forces in the small coastal enclave to one of their lowest levels since the start of the war.

War now In his seventh monthMore than 33,000 Palestinians were killed, most of them women and children, according to local health authorities. Israeli authorities say 1,200 people, most of them civilians, were killed and nearly 250 captured. hostage In the Hamas attack on October 7.

Many of the thousands who came to Khan Yunis on foot and donkey carts on Monday took refuge in Rafah. The withdrawal gave them the opportunity to see the ruins of their homes and recover some of their belongings. But with the city no longer livable, they said they had little immediate chance of returning.

An estimated 55% of the buildings in the Khan Yunis area — about 45,000 buildings — have been destroyed or damaged, according to Corey Shear of the City University of New York and Jamon van den Hoek of Oregon State University, two cartographers who use the maps. Satellite images track the devastation.

“Where do I sleep? Where do I go?” Heba Sahloul's elderly mother was crying in despair as she sat in the ruins of the family's living room. Her daughters searched for anything they could take with them. The room's walls were blown out and the floor was littered with pieces of concrete, ceiling boards and broken countertops. Only the pink-painted pillars give any sign that it was once their home.

Sahloul said that Israeli forces ordered them to leave during the fighting. “We left all our luggage here and went out with only our clothes,” she said. Her father was killed earlier in the attack, leaving Sahloul, her sisters, and her mother behind. “We are only six women at home and we don’t know where to go,” Sahloul said.

A woman climbed over collapsed concrete slabs on top of a mountain of rubble from her home. Her son crawled on all fours into a hole under the rubble and twisted rebar, removing concrete blocks.

“There are no words to describe the pain inside me,” the woman said, her voice cracking. “Our memories, our dreams, our childhood here, our family… everything is gone.” The woman, who identified herself only by her first name, Hanan, put some of the items she found in a backpack, including a red plastic flower.

The main Al-Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis was destroyed inside, with debris scattered around the wards and roof panels collapsed. The exterior appeared largely intact, but the extent of the damage was not immediately clear. Israeli forces stormed the facility during the attack, saying they believed the remains of the hostages were inside, although they did not report finding any.

Israel said that Khan Yunis is a major stronghold of Hamas and that its operations there resulted in the deaths of thousands of activists and caused severe damage to a vast network of tunnels that Hamas uses to transport weapons and fighters. She also claimed to have found evidence of hostage-taking in the city.

With the withdrawal of forces, Hamas may seek to reorganize its ranks there, as it did in northern Gaza, where the army reduced its forces earlier.

Israel's plans To invade RafahThe Gaza region, which it says is the last major stronghold of Hamas, has raised global concern about the fate of about 1.4 million Palestinians residing there. The United States, Israel's biggest ally, said invading Rafah would be a mistake and demanded a credible plan to protect civilians.

An Israeli official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said Israel is purchasing 40,000 tents in preparation for the Rafah evacuation. It was not clear where they would be housed and how many people they could house. Allowing people to return to Khan Yunis could relieve some of the pressure on Rafah, but many do not have homes to return to.

In northern Gaza, the Israeli army continued to carry out air strikes and raids in areas where it says Hamas has reorganized its ranks. Last month, forces stormed Al-Shifa Hospital, the largest hospital in Gaza, in a raid that sparked two weeks of fighting in and around the facility. Israel says it killed about 200 Hamas fighters in the raid, but hospital officials say many civilians were among the dead.

On Monday, forensic experts from Gaza's Ministry of Health were still removing bodies from the courtyard of Al-Shifa Hospital, where the main buildings were left as burned, smashed husks. The workers lifted the body parts from the dirt and placed them in plastic bags. It was not clear how many new deaths there were and how many emerged from a mass grave that was dug in the hospital in November to bury war victims.

Hussein Muhaisen, director of ambulances in the Gaza Strip, said that the number of deaths was not yet known. He said that the bodies of a woman and children were found with their hands bound. His account could not be independently confirmed. Israel says that no civilians were killed during its raid.

Israel says its war aims to destroy Hamas's military and governance capabilities and return about 130 remaining hostages, a quarter of whom Israel says died.

Negotiations continue, mediated by Qatar, Egypt and the United States, regarding a ceasefire and prisoner exchange. But it appears that Israel and Hamas are still far apart. Hamas said in a statement on Monday that the latest response it received from Israel does not include a permanent ceasefire or the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza. She repeatedly said that both conditions were non-negotiable, while Israel vehemently rejected them.

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Magdy reported from Cairo.

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