Khan Younis: ‘We Will Work Amidst The Rubble’

Families are returning to live amidst the rubble of their destroyed homes in Khan Yunis. Despite the realities of their wrecked homes they are determined to make do and eventually rebuild their destroyed homes and livelihood.

Their homes were completely destroyed by the Israeli army who sorrounded the second largest city in the Gaza Strip in early December, 2023 and continued to bomb it.

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Despite much battles, Israeli army entered the city a month later and by early March 2024, they begun to leave the city under intense fighting from the Palestinian resistance. The battle of Khan Younis will be returned because of the number of Israeli soldiers who lost their lives.

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Returnees started to comeback after the Israelis pulled out; they came mostly on foot, the odd downtrodden truck and bicycles. But they were shocked by the state of callous and raw destruction.

They couldn’t believe what happened to their homes, shops and businesses, the scale of devastation, debris and wreckage.

However, the urge to return was exhilarating and continues today. This what defines Palestinians to their land, identity, culture and belonging.

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Palestinians are determined to stay even on the top of their wrecked houses. If they could find a tent to sleep in, all well and good but if not, they would sleep in the outside air, under the sun and skies and during the day, they would use their skills, toil and labour.

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The returnees would rather come back to a Khan Younis even if is in rubble form and wreckage.

They say everywhere is the same in Gaza; they are determined to rebuild their lives even in the ruins of their shops and homes because they have the “economic niche” to continue as one watch repairman told Al Jazeera English, adding “we need to start earning a wage to be able to live.”

Khan Younis, a city of 200,000 people was completely destroyed, its homes, schools, universities and colleges and its 1387 AD Barquq Castle all completely gone thanks to Israeli bombs, missiles and guns. It graves were dug up and at least 700 people were killed by Israeli troops and thrown in hastily made mass graves out side Al Nasser Hospital.

As of late however, The Times of Gaza documents the people who are still returning to their now destroyed homes. This is “home sweet home” even in a wrecked state.

CrossFireArabia

CrossFireArabia

Dr. Marwan Asmar holds a PhD from Leeds University and is a freelance writer specializing on the Middle East. He has worked as a journalist since the early 1990s in Jordan and the Gulf countries, and been widely published, including at Albawaba, Gulf News, Al Ghad, World Press Review and others.

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Moroccans Hold 110 Protests Against Israeli Genocide

About 110 protests in 66 cities in Morocco were held, Friday, condemning the Israeli genocide on Gaza. The demonstrations were organized by the Moroccan Association for the Support of the Nation’s Causes

The Association, an NGO stressed in a statement “the Moroccan people took part in 110 demonstrations in 66 cities in support of Gaza on the 73rd Al-Aqsa Flood Friday, organized under the slogan: Gaza Cries Out to You.”

It added participants condemn the ongoing genocide in Gaza and the accompanying crimes of killing, displacement, starvation, and siege, in addition to the targeting of all aspects of a dignified life guaranteed by all international norms and conventions, in light of “the largest killing operation in history” as reported by Anadolu.

Since 2 March, 2025, Israel closed the Gaza Strip’s crossings and banned the entry of food, relief, medical aid, and goods, causing a significant deterioration in the humanitarian situation of Palestinians, according to governmental, human rights, and international reports.

The genocide continues amid “blatant and unjustified official international silence,” the Assocoation maintained.

It noted that the protesters affirmed their continued “support and assistance to Gaza and all of Palestine until the aggression stops and the Palestinian people are empowered to fully exercise their rights.”

Solidarity demonstrations were held all over the Kingdom including in Casablanca, Inzegane, Oujda, Meknes, Kelaat Sraghna, Tangier, and Tetouan.

In early March, the first phase of a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement between Hamas and Israel, which went into effect on January 19, 2025, concluded with Egyptian and Qatari mediation and American support.

While Hamas adhered to the terms of the first phase, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court, renounced the start of the second phase in response to extremists in his ruling coalition, according to Hebrew media.

Since March 18, Israel has resumed its genocidal crimes by launching violent, widespread airstrikes, most of which targeted civilians in homes and tents housing displaced persons.

With full American support, Israel has been committing genocide in Gaza since October 7, 2023, leaving more than 168,000 Palestinians dead and wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 11,000 missing.

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The Israeli Army Kills 212 Gaza Journalists

The Israeli army has killed 212 Palestinian journalists in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of its genocidal war in October 2023.

In a statement, the Gaza-based Government Media Office reported that the journalist death toll in Gaza has risen to 212. The latest victim was journalist Saeed Abu Hassanein, who died from wounds sustained in an earlier Israeli airstrike in Khan Younis, southern Gaza.

The statement noted that Abu Hassanein was a journalist working at the local Al-Aqsa Radio.

It strongly condemned the Israeli systemic targeting of journalists, urging the International Federation of Journalists, the Arab Journalists Union, and all press organizations worldwide to condemn Israeli crimes and prosecute it before international courts.

The Israeli army resumed its assault on Gaza on March 18, shattering a Jan. 19 ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement according to Anadolu.

Israel has killed over 51,400 Palestinians in the enclave since October 2023, most of them women and children.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.​​​​​​​

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.

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Moroccans Hold 110 Protests Against Israeli Genocide

Moroccans Hold 110 Protests Against Israeli Genocide

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