Palestinians return to the devastated city of Khan Younis in Gaza: ‘They have spared nothing’

Palestinians are slowly returning to the devastated city of Khan Younis in southern Gaza to find their homes completely destroyed with piles of rubble lying in bombed-out craters.

Picking their way through twisted metal and shattered buildings, it seems extraordinary anyone would ever go back – but they fear what the Israeli military may have planned next.

Many of those heading home, after months of heavy bombardment and battles in the streets, have come from the city of Rafah, at the southernmost tip of Gaza. Israeli officials say the withdrawal of troops from Khan Younis was part of a regrouping in preparation for an offensive on Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians are believed to be sheltering.

For Khalil Haddad, his wife and three children, there is nothing left of their home in Khan Younis.