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Palestinians describe widescale destruction as thousands go home after Israel pulls out.
BBC HomepageSkip to contentAccessibility HelpYour accountNotificationsHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeMore menuMore menuSearch BBCHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeCBBCCBeebiesFoodClose menuBBC NewsMenuHomeIsrael-Gaza warCost of LivingWar in UkraineClimateUKWorldBusinessPoliticsCultureMoreTechScienceHealthFamily & EducationIn PicturesNewsbeatBBC VerifyDisabilityWorldAfricaAsiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastUS & CanadaGazans return to scenes of devastation in Khan YounisPublished44 minutes agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingRelated TopicsIsrael-Gaza warThis video can not be playedTo play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.Media caption, Watch: Palestinians return to Khan Younis to find homes in ruinBy Sebastian UsherBBC News, JerusalemThe devastated landscape of their city feels unreal to the thousands of Palestinians who have been returning to Khan Younis in Gaza. Through the rubble of the streets, they have been filing back on bicycles, donkey carts and by foot, looking for their homes or what trace is left of them.”I am going to my house, even though I know that it is destroyed. I am going to remove the rubble to get a shirt out,” Mohammed Abou Diab said.Israel’s military pulled troops out of southern Gaza, leaving just one brigade in the area.The smell of death is in the air, residents say, with bodies still lying beneath the ruins. The scale of the devastation has shocked them.”The destruction is huge. It all needs to be rebuilt. It’s not suitable for human beings to live in – not even for animals”, Abu Saif Abu Mustafa told the BBC.”It’s as if an earthquake hit the city,” Rashad Khamis al-Najjar from the wider Khan Younis region said as he surveyed the scene. “The houses are not liveable, the mosques are not suitable for worship, and the roads and the infrastructure, even the electricity, have all been completely destroyed.”Another resident had a similar sense of horror at what he saw on his return: “We see total destruction everywhere as if it were an earthquake or a natural catastrophe. “The houses that haven’t been destroyed are burned or looted by thieves. We are dying slowly. There are no homes to live in and we live like the dead.”Gaza’s second city was the focus of a sustained onslaught by the Israeli army from December, believing that Hamas leaders and fighters had been driven there from the north and established a new stronghold in tunnels and hospitals.Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Much of the city has been left in ruinsNeighbourhood by neighbourhood, Israel ordered Palestinians to leave. The Israeli army said it was doing everything it could to protect civilians. A city of some 400,000 people was deserted bit by bit as Israeli forces mounted ferocious bombardments.Almost from the moment that Israel announced that its mission in Khan Younis was completed and its troops had been pulled out, Palestinians began to move from their overcrowded shelters further south towards their city.But many have found that with their homes rendered unliveable, they have little option but to try to gather what possessions are left and return to their temporary shelters.Bowen: Obstacles to peace seem larger than ever Six months on, how close is Israel to eliminating Hamas?One woman, Nour Ayyash, said she couldn’t reach her apartment because the stairs were gone. Her brother managed to climb up and retrieve some clothes for her children.Another returning resident told the BBC: “We came to get some of our things, we wanted to see if anything was left of our homes and to take any of our belongings, like clothes for example.”But some would rather stay, even if there is nothing left of what was once their home. Mohammed Abu Rizzeq lost more than his house, his wife was killed in an Israeli bombardment after they were displaced. But he told the BBC: “Our biggest request is that Israel withdraw from our land – there’s been enough killing and destruction. It’s better for us to have a tent on the rubble of our homes than being displaced and in exile.”Israel’s military stressed a “significant force” would remain in Gaza after some troops left southern areas on Sunday. The pull-out is being interpreted as tactical, rather than a sign the war may be moving closer to its end.On Monday Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel had set a date for a planned military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where many of those returning to Khan Younis had been sheltering. He gave no details.More than a million Palestinians have sought shelter in Rafah after fleeing fighting in other areas – although that city too has been hit by Israeli air strikes.Mr Netanyahu said Israel wanted complete victory over Hamas. “This victory requires entry into Rafah and the elimination of the terrorist battalions there. It will happen – there is a date.”The US has said it won’t support a large-scale offensive in Rafah without a credible plan to protect civilians. Ceasefire talks are continuing, with Qatar’s foreign ministry telling the BBC it was cautiously optimistic about a new proposal.Hamas – which says it wants a permanent end to the war, full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza and an influx of aid as part of any deal – has said that it is studying the latest proposal, without indicating whether its leadership now feels ready to make concessions on its demands. The same is true on the Israeli side. Israel says it wants hostages being held by Hamas to be freed in return for a temporary pause in fighting.But Defence Minister Yoav Gallant has said he believes this is an opportune moment to do a deal with Hamas. More than 33,000 Gazans have been killed in Israel’s offensive in Gaza, the Hamas-run health ministry says, the majority of them civilians.The war was sparked when Hamas attacked southern Israeli border communities on 7 October, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostage. 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BBC HomepageSkip to contentAccessibility HelpYour accountNotificationsHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeMore menuMore menuSearch BBCHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeCBBCCBeebiesFoodClose menuBBC NewsMenuHomeIsrael-Gaza warCost of LivingWar in UkraineClimateUKWorldBusinessPoliticsCultureMoreTechScienceHealthFamily & EducationIn PicturesNewsbeatBBC VerifyDisabilityWorldAfricaAsiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastUS & CanadaCould you be a fair juror for Trump? We asked New YorkersThis video can not be playedTo play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.Could you be a fair juror for Trump? We asked New YorkersCloseJury selection is under way in Donald Trump’s New York City hush-money trial, with hundreds of people selected as potential jurors.They must answer a questionnaire to determine, among other things, if they can be impartial about the former president.The BBC asked some of those questions to Manhattan residents.SubsectionUS & CanadaPublished50 minutes agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingRead descriptionExplore moreCould you be a fair juror for Trump? We asked New Yorkers. Video, 00:02:16Could you be a fair juror for Trump? We asked New YorkersSubsectionUS & CanadaPublished50 minutes ago2:16Up Next. A view from inside court for Trump’s blockbuster trial. Video, 00:01:15A view from inside court for Trump’s blockbuster trialSubsectionUS & CanadaPublished19 hours agoUp Next1:15Press, police and protesters: Outside Trump courthouse. Video, 00:01:12Press, police and protesters: Outside Trump courthouseSubsectionUS & CanadaPublished1 day ago1:12Trump’s ‘perp walk’ moment explained in 60 seconds. Video, 00:01:00Trump’s ‘perp walk’ moment explained in 60 secondsSubsectionUS & CanadaPublished31 March 20231:00Editor’s recommendationsCopenhagen stock exchange engulfed by huge fire. Video, 00:01:03Copenhagen stock exchange engulfed by huge fireSubsectionEuropePublished12 hours ago1:03Moment spire collapses at Copenhagen stock exchange. Video, 00:00:43Moment spire collapses at Copenhagen stock exchangeSubsectionEuropePublished11 hours ago0:43Dormice ladders built in the Forest of Dean. Video, 00:00:51Dormice ladders built in the Forest of DeanSubsectionGloucestershirePublished1 day ago0:51Liz Truss: The world was safer under Trump. Video, 00:00:35Liz Truss: The world was safer under TrumpSubsectionUK PoliticsPublished22 hours ago0:35Huge fires blaze along Miami highway. Video, 00:00:33Huge fires blaze along Miami highwaySubsectionUS & CanadaPublished12 hours ago0:33Watch: Georgia opposition leader punches MP during debate. Video, 00:00:34Watch: Georgia opposition leader punches MP during debateSubsectionEuropePublished21 hours ago0:34Wheelie bins fly and a caravan overturns in strong wind. Video, 00:00:24Wheelie bins fly and a caravan overturns in strong windSubsectionStoke & StaffordshirePublished1 day ago0:24Hannah Waddingham calls out demanding paparazzi. Video, 00:00:28Hannah Waddingham calls out demanding paparazziSubsectionEntertainment & ArtsPublished1 day ago0:28Endangered California condor chicks hatched in LA. Video, 00:01:28Endangered California condor chicks hatched in LASubsectionUS & CanadaPublished1 day ago1:28
[ad_1] Jury selection is under way in Donald Trump’s New York City hush-money trial, with hundreds of people selected as potential jurors. They must answer a questionnaire to determine, among…
BBC HomepageSkip to contentAccessibility HelpYour accountNotificationsHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeMore menuMore menuSearch BBCHomeNewsSportWeatheriPlayerSoundsBitesizeCBBCCBeebiesFoodClose menuBBC NewsMenuHomeIsrael-Gaza warCost of LivingWar in UkraineClimateUKWorldBusinessPoliticsCultureMoreTechScienceHealthFamily & EducationIn PicturesNewsbeatBBC VerifyDisabilityUKEnglandN. IrelandScotlandAlbaWalesCymruIsle of ManGuernseyJerseyLocal NewsFirst product of Meghan’s lifestyle brand revealedPublished11 minutes agoShareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingImage source, ReutersImage caption, Meghan pictured at a polo match in Florida last weekBy Sean CoughlanRoyal correspondentA first glimpse of the new business venture from the Duchess of Sussex has been teased on social media, with pictures of a jar of strawberry jam.In a bid to preserve a sense of mystery, the jam from the new American Riviera Orchard brand seemed to be spread among friends and influencers.Fashion designer Tracy Robbins posted a picture of the jam on Instagram.It was numbered “17 of 50”, suggesting the number of recipients of this first fruit of the new business.The arrival of Meghan’s new California-based lifestyle brand had been signalled on social media last month and this suggests that it will be selling food products.What do we know about Meghan’s new brand?Five things about Harry and Meghan’s brand revampWhy did Harry and Meghan leave the Royal Family?There seemed to be have been something of a re-launch for Meghan and husband Prince Harry’s brands and businesses this year, beginning with the overhaul of their regal-looking website under the sussex.com label.Their latest projects seem to be moving away from a previous focus on their time as working royals, such as their Netflix film Harry and Meghan and Prince Harry’s memoir Spare.The hint about the strawberry jam from Meghan’s American Riviera Orchard brand seems to fit with the couple’s latest Netflix plans.Meghan is going to launch a Netflix show which will “celebrate the joys of cooking and gardening, entertaining, and friendship”.Prince Harry will be involved in another Netflix venture showing the inside track on the world of polo. That’s the equestrian sport, not the mints.Delfina Blaquier, married to Prince Harry’s polo-playing friend Nacho Figueras, also posted a picture of the new jam, with hers labelled “10 of 50”.The social media trail for American Riviera Orchard evokes a sense of the couple’s home in California – and this soft launch for the jam show pictures of the jars in a sunny basket of lemons.It’s not known how much items from the new lifestyle brand will cost. Although there are already plenty of other royals getting into jams. Visitors to the gift shops in royal palaces can get a Buckingham Palace Strawberry Preserve for £3.95 or Windsor Castle Fine Cut Seville Orange Marmalade, also for £3.95.On both sides of the Atlantic they seem to be conserving their finances.Related TopicsUK Royal FamilyMeghan, Duchess of SussexMore on this storyWhat we know about Meghan’s regal lifestyle brandPublished16 MarchMeghan launches surprise new lifestyle brandPublished14 MarchTop StoriesMPs back smoking ban for those born after 2009Published8 minutes agoMuslim student loses school prayer ban challengePublished2 hours agoBowen: Iran’s attack on Israel offers Netanyahu a lifelinePublished7 hours agoFeaturesJeremy Bowen: Iran’s attack on Israel offers Netanyahu a lifelineIranians on edge as leaders say ‘Tel Aviv is our battleground’A really, really big election with nearly a billion votersWhat is the smoking ban and how will it work?Martin Tyler: I nearly lost my voice foreverWho are the millions of Britons not working?How to register to vote for the local elections ahead of midnight deadlinePlaying Coachella after cancer emotional, says DJHow the Alec Baldwin fatal film set shooting unfoldedElsewhere on the BBCFrom weight loss to prolonging lifeIs intermittent fasting actually good for you? James Gallagher investigatesAttributionSoundsCould Nina shake up the unspoken rules of modern dating?Brand new comedy about love, friendship and being your own selfAttributioniPlayerWill the UK introduce tough anti-tobacco laws?Under new plans, anyone turning 15 from this year would be banned from buying cigarettesAttributionSoundsCan William Wisting find the truth?The Norwegian detective returns, tackling more grisly cold casesAttributioniPlayerMost Read1Nursery boss ‘killed baby she strapped to beanbag’2Birmingham Airport flights disrupted by incident3Muslim student loses school prayer ban challenge4First product of Meghan’s lifestyle brand revealed5MPs back smoking ban for those born after 20096Police told to shut down right-wing Brussels conference7Historic Copenhagen stock exchange goes up in flames8Bowen: Iran’s attack on Israel offers Netanyahu a lifeline9Marten a ‘lioness’ who ‘loved her cubs’, court told10Sons of McCartney and Lennon release joint single
[ad_1] The jars of strawberry jam, labelled America Riviera Orchard, have been shared with friends and influencers.