GAZA CITY, Palestine 

Palestinian medics recovered the bodies of at least 42 people in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip following Israeli army withdrawal from the area, local authorities said on Tuesday.

The Israeli army said early Tuesday that its 98th Division completed its operations in Khan Younis last night.

“The bodies of 42 victims were recovered in the past few hours,” Ismail Thawabta, head of Gaza’s government media office, told Anadolu.

“We expect the number of deaths to rise as there are still many bodies under the rubble,” he added.

Thawabta said that Israeli forces had bulldozed residential buildings and service facilities during its attack.

“This is a clear and complete war crime carried out with the support of the US administration, which provides Tel Aviv with weapons,” he added.

According to Gaza’s Civil Defense Agency, around 200 people have been missing since the start of the Israeli military operation in Khan Younis on July 22.

Israel, flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7 attack by the Palestinian group Hamas.

At least 39,400 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and nearly 91,000 injured, according to local health authorities.

Over nine months into the Israeli onslaught, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala in Istanbul