In Pictures

Gallery|Israel-Palestine conflict

‘Bodies all around’ as Israeli air raids hit homes in Khan Younis and Rafah

The bombardment of southern areas continues despite Israel ordering people to move there ahead of an expected ground assault on Gaza.

Palestinians rescue a girl from the rubble of a building after an Israeli airstrike at the Rafah refugee camp
Palestinians rescue a girl from the rubble of a building destroyed by an Israeli attack on the Rafah refugee camp. [Said Khatib/AFP]
Published On 17 Oct 2023

More than 70 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli air raids on southern Gaza, where Israel previously ordered civilians to seek refuge ahead of a looming ground offensive, according to officials in the besieged enclave.

The attacks early on Tuesday hit homes west and southeast of Khan Younis and west of Rafah, according to local reports.

People with dual citizenship who have gathered in recent days awaiting the opening of the Rafah crossing bordering Egypt began approaching the area, but some said they were staying away due to the air attacks.

Egypt says the Rafah crossing, a vital artery before the fighting and now a key route for desperately needed supplies into the Israeli-besieged Palestinian enclave, has not been officially closed but has become inoperable due to the Israeli attacks on the Gaza side.

Israel began its intense bombardment of Gaza following a devastating assault by Hamas fighters on October 7.

Gaza’s 2.3 million residents have been left without power, pushing health and water services to the brink of collapse, with fuel for hospital generators running low. Hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced.

A Palestinian reacts amidst the rubble of a building after an Israeli airstrike on the Rafah refugee camp
The UN says the Israeli army has continued striking Khan Younis and other southern areas despite ordering people in Gaza to move south.  [Mohammed Abed/AFP]
A Palestinian reacts amidst the rubble of a building after an Israeli airstrike on the Rafah
A medical source said hundreds were also wounded during the bombardments, which hit homes in Rafah and Khan Younis. [Mohammed Abed/AFP]
Palestinians evacuate a wounded civilian after an Israeli airstrike at the Rafah refugee camp
Residents in Gaza have described the Israeli bombardment as the most intense in memory. [Mohammed Abed/AFP]
A Palestinian reacts amidst the rubble of a building after an Israeli airstrike on the Rafah
More than 2,800 people, including some 1,000 children, have been killed in Israel's bombardment on Gaza since October 7, when Hamas launched an attack inside Israel that killed at least 1,400 people. [Mohammed Abed/AFP]
A Palestinian reacts after an Israeli airstrike at the Rafah refugee camp
The government media office in Gaza says the loss of life in 'the current Israeli aggression exceed all the wars that Gaza has been exposed to in recent years'. [Mohammed Abed/AFP]
Civil defense members and residents conduct search and rescue operation amid rubble and destroyed buildings after Israeli attacks continue on the 11th day in Khan Yunis
Civil defence and residents search for survivors under the rubble of buildings destroyed by Israeli attacks on Khan Younis. [Mustafa Hassona/Anadolu]
Civil defense members and residents conduct search and rescue operation amid rubble and destroyed buildings after Israeli attacks continue on the 11th day in Khan Yunis
A witness told Al Jazeera: 'We were all asleep and woke up [in the early morning before dawn] to pray. Immediately afterwards, our house with 40 people inside, old and young, was hit.' [Mustafa Hassona/Anadolu Agency]
Civil defense members and residents conduct search and rescue operation amid rubble and destroyed buildings after Israeli attacks continue on the 11th day in Khan Yunis
'Suddenly the entire neighbourhood was in ruins. The scenes I witnessed are indescribable, with bodies all around me,' the witness added. [Mustafa Hassona/Anadolu]
Civil defense members and residents conduct search and rescue operation amid rubble and destroyed buildings after Israeli attacks continue on the 11th day in Khan Yunis, Gaza on October 17, 2023
The Israeli military's bombardment has flattened neighbourhood after neighboourhod in the besieged enclave. [Mustafa Hassona/Anadolu]