UNRWA Chief, Philippe Lazzarini has warned that the war on Gaza is not only destroying the besieged and bombarded territory’s infrastructure but also ripping apart its “whole community.”
Lazzarini wrote in a post on X that on top of the “brick and stone” being torn apart, so are the “once closely-tied society and kinship.”
“With a ceasefire comes equally the urgency to rebuild the social fabric and community ties,” the Head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees said.
This came as Israeli tanks returned to the southern Gaza City of Khan Younis on Friday, August 9, 2024, forcing thousands to evacuate along congested roadways, as Palestinian fighters continued to attack Israeli troops from the ruins.
Families fled eastern Khan Younis in vehicles and on foot, belongings heaped on donkey carts and motorcycle rickshaws as they made their slow escape along congested roads.
In recent weeks Israeli forces which swept into nearly the entire Gaza Strip over more than ten months of war have been returning to the ruins of areas where they previously claimed to have driven Hamas fighters out.
In the latest assault, the military dropped leaflets ordering residents and displaced people sheltering in eastern Khan Younis, Gaza’s main southern city, to evacuate from an area that has already seen repeated waves of fighting.
Families packed into buses and cars, many seeking shelter in Al-Mawasi, a sandy stretch of ground along the coast, though some expressed fear that it has been attacked in the past despite being designated as a safe zone by Israeli forces.
Ahmed al-Farra, a displaced man stated, “We don’t know where are we going, to the beach to Al-Mawasi, any place we will stay at. There is no safe place here.”
“They struck everywhere, they already struck Al-Mawasi and many people were killed. There is no safety, the safety is with God,” he said
Another displaced person named Um Raed Abu Elyan said that she and her family were “running from the fire, we are running with our children from fear.”
Asked where would she go, she replied, “God knows, we are walking now. They said to go to humanitarian areas, but there is no safe place here in Gaza. It is all destroyed and damaged.”
The Israeli military said troops hit dozens of targets belonging to Hamas militants in Khan Younis and Rafah close to the Egyptian border, seizing arms depots, destroying infrastructure and killing dozens of fighters equipped with weapons including rocket propelled grenades.
Several Palestinians Killed In latest Khan Younis Attacks
Also on Friday, Israeli forces targeted a residential home in eastern of Khan Younis, killing at least seven people, including Palestinian journalist, Tamim Muammar.
This brings the total number of journalists killed in Gaza since October 7 to at least 167, according to figures by the Government Media Office in Gaza.
It was said that Israeli forces also targeted another residential building in al-Mawasi, near Khan Younis, which has been designated as a so-called “safe zone” by Israeli forces. At least six people were killed.
The area, which Israeli forces ordered Palestinians in Khan Younis to evacuate to, has been ravaged by the Israeli army’s invasion.
Israeli soldiers destroyed infrastructure, houses, medical facilities and schools.
It was also reported that Israeli forces are stepping up artillery shelling and air strikes in parts of Khan Younis, as well as Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah.
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