30 Aug 2024 Israeli forces have withdrawn from areas of eastern Khan Younis after a 22-day military operation, leaving destruction in their wake.
The Israeli military has said it had completed its ground operations in some parts of the Gaza Strip, leaving a trail of devastation, while it continued to scale up attacks in other areas.
The military’s Arabic spokesman, Avichay Adraee, announced on Friday that Palestinians evacuated from parts of Khan Younis in southern Gaza and Deir el-Balah in the centre would be allowed to return.
It claimed to have killed 250 fighters, without providing evidence.
The announcement came as the war nears the 11-month mark. Israel’s offensive has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians since October 7, injured more than 90,000, and displaced the vast majority of the population.
The army said Palestinians can now return to the neighbourhoods of Hamad, al-Jalaa and al-Qarara in Khan Younis.
The neighbourhoods had been evacuated when Israel started an armed operation in Khan Younis and was temporarily removed from what the military calls the humanitarian zone.
Adraee said those areas can be again considered to be part of the humanitarian zone.
Israel has a long history of bombing so-called “safe zones”, and shrinking them with evacuation orders during its war on Gaza. United Nations agencies and international humanitarian and rights groups have said that there is no safe place in Gaza, despite Israel’s claims.
Israeli troops operate on their side of the fence separating Israel from the Gaza Strip on August 29, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the militant group Hamas. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP)A Palestinian man who retuned briefly to eastern Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip to check on his home, drinks water as he sits atop some items salvaged amid the devastation, after Israeli troops pulled out from some blocks in the area on August 29, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Hamas militant group. (Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP)A Palestinian man sits among rubble, after Israeli forces withdrew from the area, following a ground operation, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, August 30, 2024. REUTERS/Hatem KhaledPalestinians who retuned briefly to eastern Deir al-Balah in central Gaza Strip to check on their homes, sit amid the rubble and some salvaged items, after Israeli troops pulled out from some blocks in the area on August 29, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Hamas militant group. (Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP)A general view shows the damage, after Israeli forces withdrew from the area, following a ground operation, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, August 30, 2024. REUTERS/Hatem KhaledA Palestinian woman who retuned briefly to eastern Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip to check on her home, carries away some items that she was able to salvage amid the rubble, after Israeli troops pulled out from some blocks in the area on August 29, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Hamas militant group. (Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP)
A Palestinian man stands near rubble, after Israeli forces withdrew from the area, following a ground operation, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, August 30, 2024. REUTERS/Hatem KhaledA Palestinian woman reacts at the sight of the devastation as she returns with others to eastern Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip to check on property, after Israeli troops pulled out from some blocks in the area on August 29, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Hamas militant group. (Photo by Eyad BABA / AFP)