Nadene Goldfoot
When a group of people want to put an end to others' stealing and killing, they put them in Jail ! People have been doing that since the beginning of civilization, otherwise they'd just kill them.
As a result of the 1993-1995 Oslo Accords, Khan Yunis and most of the Gaza Strip (excluding Israeli settlements and military areas) were placed under the control of the Palestinian Authority. The Palestinian Authority came into control of the entirety of the Strip following the 2005 Israeli disengagement. However, following the Battle of Gaza in 2007, Hamas took over the Gaza Strip and established its own government in the region.
During the ongoing Israel–Hamas war, Israel has bombed Khan Yunis along with other cities in the Gaza Strip as part of an offensive against Hamas. The Israeli Air Force extensively bombed much of the city, including the Hamad City apartment complex. Local sources have reported numerous civilian casualties in Khan Yunis as a result of Israeli bombings, which Palestinian news agency Wafa put at "at least 70" as of December 3. The Al Qarara Cultural Museum was destroyed in an explosion as a result of an Israeli attack in October 2023, part of an offensive that reportedly targeted civilian homes and mosques in the vicinity. Israeli armored units began entering the outskirts of the city in December 2023.
After several months of fighting, Israeli forces ended up withdrawing from Khan Yunis and most of the southern Gaza Strip. Having failed to root out Hamas from Khan Yunis, Israeli forces began a second invasion of the city in late July 2024, which also ended in an Israeli withdrawal. Israeli forces invaded Khan Yunis yet again in August 2024, and withdrew once more at the end of the month.
- Gaza Strip: The Gaza Strip has eight official and no unofficial refugee camps, and 1,221,110 registered refugees. Khan Yunis is one of them. It was established in 1949 by UNRWA and has 87,816 population with a density of 0.549 per Km2.
In 1967, during the Six-Day War, Israel occupied Khan Yunis again.
As a result of the 1993-1995 Oslo Accords, Khan Yunis and most of the Gaza Strip (excluding Israeli settlements and military areas) were placed under the control of the Palestinian Authority (PA--not Hamas.)
This was a time when Israel had been attacked by Palestinians ferociously. "The Israeli–Palestinian conflict escalated during the Second Intifada. In January and February 2002, 71 people were killed on all sides during attacks from Palestinian terrorists and the Israeli army. March and April 2002 saw a dramatic increase in attacks against Israelis by Palestinian militants such as Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Fatah-affiliated Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades. In addition to numerous shooting and grenade attacks, fifteen suicide bombings were carried out in March, an average of one suicide bombing every two days. March 2002 became known in Israel as "Black March". The large number of attacks severely disrupted daily life in Israel."
Khan Yunis was the site of Israeli helicopter attacks in August 2001 and October 2002 that left several civilians killed, hundreds wounded and civilian buildings within the vicinity destroyed.
The Palestinian Authority came into control of the entirety of the Strip following the 2005 Israeli disengagement. However, following the Battle of Gaza in 2007, Hamas took over the Gaza Strip and established its own government in the region.
Last 7 November of 2023, "after Israel had surrounded Gaza City, it claimed it had "trapped" Sinwar in a bunker there. Israeli military authorities later claimed he was in Khan Yunis in an underground bunker. Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said: "We will get to Yahya Sinwar and eliminate him. If the residents of Gaza get there ahead of us, that will shorten the war." Leaflets allegedly dropped by Israel into Gaza proclaimed a bounty of $400,000 for providing information on Sinwar's location. According to Reuters, Israel is demanding the exile of Sinwar, Deif, and four other Hamas leaders from Gaza as a condition for a ceasefire".
Palestinian attacks continued, with suicide bombings on 9 March (see Café Moment bombing), 20 March,and 21 March. Shooting and grenade attacks also continued to occur in Israel and Israeli settlements. On 27 March, a suicide attack occurred in Netanya, where 30 people were killed in the Park Hotel while celebrating Passover. The event became known as the Passover massacre. The following day, a Palestinian gunman infiltrated the Israeli settlement of Elon Moreh and killed four members of the same family.
On March 29, the Israeli government announced Operation Defensive Shield, An Israeli military operation conducted during the Second Intifada, from 29 March to 10 May 2002. The immediate trigger for the operation was a suicide bombing in Netanya that resulted in 30 Israeli casualties; terming it a large-scale counter-terrorist offensive. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) issued emergency call-up notices for 30,000 reserve soldiers, the largest call-up since the 1982 Lebanon War. The same day, two Israelis were stabbed in the Gaza settlement of Netzarim. Two suicide bombings occurred the next day, and another one took place the day after that.
Overall, in March 2002, some 130 Israelis including approximately 100 noncombatants were killed in Palestinian attacks, while a total of 238 Palestinians including at least 83 noncombatants were killed in the same month by the IDF.
230 Jews/238 Palestinians killed; of which were 100 noncombatant Israelis/83 noncombatants Palestinians.
Reference:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Defensive_Shield
https://apnews.com/article/sinwar-hamas-gaza-israel-0ca09c4c9d03e4113ca80c0c8fc28e
