Fatshimetry
Khan Younis, Gaza – The once bustling and populated town of Khan Younis was transformed into a landscape of desolation after Israeli forces withdrew following months of fierce fighting. Residents who were forced to leave their homes are timidly beginning to return to this town in the south of the Gaza Strip, to discover a breathtaking panorama of destruction.
Video footage captured by a Fatshimetrie reporter shows dozens of residents returning to the sites of their former homes, gazing at the ruins that stretch out before them. Some stand atop destroyed buildings, digging through piles of debris that were once homes.
After the withdrawal of Israeli forces, the city of Khan Younis, once populated by hundreds of thousands of people, now resembles a devastated battlefield. Residents try to salvage what they can: mattresses, carpets, kitchen utensils, pieces of wood. Some children carry sofas and chairs on their backs.
A man riding his motorbike through the rubble expresses his dismay: “This is what Gaza has become.” Others, arriving on foot, by bicycle, in a van or on the back of donkeys, are confronted with a spectacle of desolation.
Among them, Aseel, a 12-year-old child sitting on a dusty carpet, points to a pile of rubble in front of her, where her house used to be. “It was destroyed, everything is gone. We managed to save some furniture, but I couldn’t get my clothes back.”
Another young man, Tamar, carries pieces of wood to sell them. “I’ll sell them to earn 10 to 20 shekels, so I never have to put out my hand to beg for money,” he explains. Buildings in the city, including homes, mosques and offices, were heavily damaged or completely destroyed.
Khan Younis survivors found structures covered in soot, riddled with bullet holes and traces of artillery. Ammunition carcasses litter the ground, testifying to the violence of the clashes. “My house was completely destroyed. It was three stories high, now it’s just one. I have no memories. Like everyone else here. They destroyed the area in a barbaric and deliberate manner,” deplores Saad, a former resident.
The story of Mahmoud Ahmad, an old man standing in what remains of his house, reduced to a simple frame, illustrates the extent of the losses suffered. “It was my washing machine, they burned it, the Israelis. I had a little living room here, everything is gone. It was my refrigerator, look, the door is torn off. It was the kitchen. Nothing is left.”
The traces of destruction left by the fighting are omnipresent in Khan Younis. Israeli drones buzz in the sky, accompanied by sporadic bursts. Offensive graffiti adorns the walls of buildings, testifying to deep hatred.
Before the Hamas offensive on Israel, Khan Younis, Gaza’s second largest city, was inhabited by more than 400,000 people, according to Gaza’s interior ministry. But when Israeli forces launched their attack on the town last December, residents had to flee further south for refuge.
With millions of Palestinians now crowded into precarious humanitarian conditions in Rafah, there is little comfort for those who find Khan Younis in a desolate state. Abdelkarim, a young Palestinian sitting next to his ruined school, says he spent his time reading and writing while hiding in Rafah.
The tragedy of Khan Younis reveals the devastation inflicted by a conflict that leaves behind broken lives and painful stories. While the world often turns away from these terrible realities, it is crucial to remember that behind every ruin lies a torn existence, a bruised family, shattered dreams. Physical reconstruction may take time, but rebuilding damaged souls will require a continued effort of compassion, understanding and solidarity.