Israeli forces quit east Khan Younis, Palestinians recover dozens of bodies

Thousands of Palestinians returned to their homes in the ruins of Gaza's main southern city Khan Younis on Tuesday, after Israeli forces ended a week-long incursion there which they said aimed to prevent Islamist armed group Hamas from regrouping.

Palestinian rescue workers and civilians collected dead bodies from the streets of the abandoned battle zone, bringing corpses wrapped in rugs to morgues in cars and donkey carts.

The Hamas-run Gaza media office said Israel's eight-day-long raid in eastern areas of Khan Younis killed 255 Palestinians and wounded more than 300 others. At leas 30 people remained missing, reports Reuters .

The Israeli military said its forces killed more than 150 Palestinian gunmen during the week-long raid, destroyed militant tunnels and seized weapons.

After the Israeli forces left, people streamed back to their homes on foot and with carts carrying their belongings. Many found their houses damaged or destroyed. The Hamas media office said more than 300 homes had been hit by Israeli fire during the raid, at least 30 of them inhabited when they were struck.

Witnesses said army forces had bulldozed the main cemetery in Bani Suhaila, the town on the eastern outskirts of Khan Younis that was the main focus of the raid, as well as houses and roads nearby.

Meanwhile, Gaza's Health Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday that more than 39,400 Palestinians have been killed and 90,996 injured by Israeli forces in Gaza since October 7.