GAZA: Safa Qandil’s return to Khan Younis in southern Gaza on Monday turned into a heartbreaking realization as she discovered her home no longer existed, swept away by months of relentless bombardment by the Israeli army.
Thousands of displaced Gazans have been making the arduous journey back to their neighborhoods, only to confront the apocalyptic landscape of destruction left behind.
Qandil, 46, recounted the harrowing loss of her son and his pregnant wife, along with other family members, in an Israeli army attack. “My tragedy is great,” she said, struggling to articulate the depth of her sorrow. “It is unnatural and indescribable… In every house, there is a martyr, a wounded person.”
“My tragedy is great,” she said, adding that the army also killed her daughter-in-law’s “father, brother, sister, aunt and the rest of her family in a very heinous crime.”
“It is unnatural and indescribable,” she said. “In every house there is a martyr (someone dead), a wounded person, words cannot describe the magnitude of the devastation and the suffering we experienced. “We cried hysterically at the sight of the blood.”
The devastation in Khan Younis is staggering, with entire neighborhoods reduced to rubble. Residents returning from neighboring areas find it difficult to navigate the devastated city, as landmarks have been obliterated and the smell of death permeates the air.
Salim Sharab, among those returning, expressed disbelief at the destruction, noting that nothing looks the same anymore. The city’s civil defense has appealed to the United Nations for assistance in retrieving bodies buried under the debris, as decomposition sets in.
For many like Aisha Al-Hoor, the ruins of their homes hold painful memories, while Mohammed Dahalan and Muhammad Abu Diab grapple with the shock and despair of losing everything they had. Despite the devastation, some cling to hope, like Sharab, who vows to rebuild even amid the ruins.
Since October 7, the relentless bombardment campaign by Israel has resulted in the deaths of at least 33,207 Palestinians, mostly women and children, in Gaza, according to the territory’s health ministry.
