Sadness Shrouds Khan Younes as it Bids Last Farewell to 56 Palestinians
(AWP) - Mourners screamed and wept as they took one final look on the bodies of 56 Palestinians whose relatives aid have been killed in only 24 hours in an Israeli shelling attack that targeted residential sections in Khan Younes, southern Gaza Strip.
As bodies of dozens of victims were placed one next to the other outside Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younes prior to their burial, the locals were grieving with great sadness and tears from behind iron bars and stood looking at their dead beloved ones.
“May God break and vanquish them! We pray to God to deny them what they want!” a weeping Palestinian woman said.
Israeli bombing attacks escalated during the past few days on Khan Younes after six weeks of intensive attacks on the northern areas of the strip, including Gaza City.
According to the government media office in Gaza Strip on Saturday, fatalities from Israeli offensives on the enclave rose to 12,300 Palestinians, including 5,000 children and 3,300 women.
The number of people reported missing since the start of the Israeli war on the strip reached 6,000, the office said in a statement, noting those missing persons are either under the rubbles from the bombardment or their bodies have been left on the streets and roads.
The Israeli army totally destroyed 43,000 housing units while 225,000 others were partly destroyed, nearly making 60% of all houses in Gaza, added the statement.
The number of destroyed government headquarters reached 95, the schools 260, while 77 mosques were completely destroyed and 165 others partly destroyed, in addition to the targeting of three churches, said the government media office.
It pointed out that 25 hospitals and 52 health centers have become out of service, while 55 ambulances were targeted.