Israeli forces conducted a surprise raid to the east of the city of Khan Yunis on Monday, causing residents who had recently returned to their homes to flee once again. Over 200 bodies were discovered in mass graves at the Nasser Medical Complex, the main hospital in the city. Meanwhile, air strikes were launched on Rafah, where many Gaza residents have sought refuge.
Israel had recently withdrawn most of its ground forces from southern Gaza after intense battles. As residents began to return to their homes in Khan Yunis, they found their neighborhoods in ruins with bodies scattered in the streets. Many families were forced to flee again as tanks entered the area under heavy gunfire.
The war in Gaza has claimed the lives of over 34,000 Palestinians, with thousands more missing and feared to be buried under the rubble. Emergency workers recovered bodies from mass graves at the Nasser Hospital site, where Israeli forces claim they were forced to fight inside the hospital against Hamas fighters.
Relatives came to claim the bodies of their loved ones for reburial, including Osama Al-Shoubji, whose body was recovered from the hospital. His wife, Sumaya, found solace in burying him next to his sister, to whom he had donated a kidney. The scene at the cemetery was somber, with Sumaya holding flowers and her daughter recalling her father’s love.
In other parts of Gaza, air strikes continued, including in Rafah where doctors had performed a caesarean section on a mother who was killed. In Nuseirat, a hospital’s solar panels were destroyed in an air strike, affecting the hospital’s energy source. The conflict in Gaza continues to take a toll on civilians, with many families grappling with loss and destruction.