42 Palestinian bodies recovered in Khan Younis after Israeli army's withdrawal

Gaza: The Palestinian Civil Defence stated on Tuesday that the bodies of 42 Palestinians were recovered from the rubble in the east of Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, following the Israeli army's withdrawal.

The civil defence retrieved the bodies from the Bani Suhaila area and has received 200 reports of missing Palestinians in the east of Khan Younis since the operation began on July 22, the organization said in a press statement. It noted that efforts are ongoing to recover the remaining bodies.

The organization also added that the Israeli army prevented its crew members from rescuing the injured, resulting in their deaths and the subsequent decomposition of their bodies, which it cited as a violation of basic rights.

Local sources and eyewitnesses informed Xinhua that the Israeli army left behind extensive destruction in homes, residential buildings, mosques, and cemeteries.

Following the withdrawal, dozens of families returned to their homes from which they had been displaced, according to sources and witnesses.

Also on Tuesday, the Hamas-run Gaza government media office reported that at least 255 Palestinians were killed and approximately 300 others injured during the Israeli military operation over the past eight days in the east of Khan Younis. Additionally, about 320 houses and residential buildings were bombed.

Meanwhile, the Israel Defence Forces stated in a release that it had concluded its operational activities against "terrorist" infrastructure and operatives in the Khan Younis area.

"Over the past week, the troops have eliminated over 150 terrorists, dismantled terror tunnels, weapons storage facilities, and terrorist infrastructure, and located weapons," the statement read.

Israel launched a large-scale offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip in response to a Hamas

incursion through the southern Israeli border on October 7, 2023, during which about 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 were taken hostage.