GAZA CITY, Palestine

The Palestinian Civil Defense in Gaza reported Friday that during its 22-day military offensive in Khan Younis, the Israeli army destroyed water lines supplying areas in the city claimed by Tel Aviv to be "humanitarian."

“The Israeli army destroyed main water lines providing essential services to residents in the areas it claims are humanitarian,” Mohammad Al-Mughir, the agency's director of supply and equipment, told Anadolu.

Mughir noted that the withdrawal of Israeli forces revealed widespread destruction of infrastructure, facilities, residential buildings, and roads.

He also mentioned that Civil Defense teams are searching through rubble and along roads for missing persons.

On Friday morning, the Israeli army withdrew from Khan Younis after a 22-day military offensive, leaving extensive damage and bodies on the streets and under the rubble of homes.

The Israeli army had announced on Aug. 9 the start of an "offensive military operation" in Khan Younis, which it had entered multiple times since the beginning of the war.

Israel has continued its offensive on the Gaza Strip following an attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7, despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.

The onslaught has resulted in over 40,600 Palestinian deaths, mostly women and children, and over 93,800 injuries, according to local health authorities.

An ongoing blockade of Gaza has led to severe shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, leaving much of the region in ruins.

Israel faces accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which has ordered a halt to military operations in the southern city of Rafah, where over 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge before the area was invaded on May 6.

*Writing by Ikram Kouachi in Ankara