Residents of Khan Younis said their city looks like it had been the site of an earthquake. After Israel's surprise move on Sunday, withdrawing its forces from the area, hundreds of the city's residents who had been sheltering in safe areas around Rafah, began returning although many of the homes had been destroyed.
Some said they were unable to recognize the streets where they had lived most of their lives. Much of the destruction in the vicinity of the Al Amal hospital and the city's a Rahma mosque was captured on video.
In the early days of the IDF offensive on Khan Younis, estimations were that half of the city's buildings were damaged but after two months of the IDF operating there, the total-destruction was revealed to be much greater.
"There is the smell of bodies in the air," residents said. Mohammed Younis, 51 said many bodies were still trapped under the rubble. "You can smell the stench," he said. The Hamas run health authorities said in the past that there were likely thousands of bodies under the destroyed buildings but provided no evidence of their claims.
One mother of four was among those who decided to return to her home. "It is not really suitable for living but is better than a tent in Rafah," she told Al Jazeera. Another man said there is nowhere to live. "It is all destroyed," he said. "God, enough. None of the houses are fit, there is nothing, no roads, no infrastructure, nothing.
According to the World Bank estimates, the damage to critical infrastructure in the Gaza Strip is around 15.5 billion dollars.