New York: Khan Younis, the second largest city in the Gaza Strip, which was home to more than 200,000 people before the Israeli war, is now a “ghost town,” according to Save the Children International.

In a press release following an assessment mission that visited the area on April 25, the organization said that every building they saw was “either severely damaged or rubble on the ground,” with few people returning to protect what was left of their property and belongings.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and UNRWA observed the same scenes of mass destruction during a separate visit to Gaza City.

According to an interim assessment by the World Bank, more than 60 percent of residential buildings and nearly 80 percent of commercial facilities were damaged or destroyed in Gaza between October 2023 and January 2024, with 80 percent of the total damage concentrated in Gaza, North Gaza and Khan Younis governorates.

The organization noted that many children were walk
ing “alone” in the destroyed streets and in dangerous proximity to destroyed or semi-destroyed buildings, with many carrying heavy, potentially water-filled containers.

Source: Jordan News Agency