In Gaza, the Israeli army withdrew its troops from a residential district of Khan Younes which was now in ruins. A Hamas member was killed in a strike in southern Lebanon.
In Gaza, Israeli forces finally withdrew from the Qatar-funded Hamad residential complex in Khan Yunis. But the area is nothing more than a field of rubble. As the dust settles, the residents of the complex face the grim reality of their homes reduced to ruins.
Amid scenes of destruction, residents return, driven by a mixture of hope and despair, to save what little remains of their lives.
Around 80% of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents have been displaced since the start of the war, more than half of whom are crowded together in the far south, around the town of Rafah, most living in tents with the strict minimum, or even less: hunger has become endemic there.
The Israeli assault, triggered by Hamas’ unprecedented attack on southern Israel on October 7, killed more than 31,000 people and injured 73,000 Palestiniansaccording to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry.
For its part, the Israeli army released a video on Wednesday showing a drone strike on a moving vehicle carrying a Hamas official in Lebanon.
According to the IDF, Hadi Mustafa was killed in the attack near the southern Lebanese city of Tyre. Another person was reportedly killed during the strike.
The Palestinian group Hamas reportedly told Reuters that Hadi Mustafa was a member but not a senior official and that he came from the neighboring Palestinian camp of Rashidieh, a version denied by the Israelis who say the man was an “important” agent and responsible for attacks on Israelis and Jews around the world.
The strike comes a day after senior Hamas official Khalil al-Hayyeh met with Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut and days after talks between Hamas and Israel collapsed for a truce in the war in Gaza as the holy month of Ramadan approaches.
The United States and other governments continue to struggle to prevent the ongoing war in the Palestinian enclave from spreading to Lebanonas Hezbollah militants and the Israeli army continue to exchange fire.
