Israeli forces withdraw from southern Gaza as cease-fire talks resume

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• Geoff Bennett:

  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today said he's set a date for the invasion of Rafah in Southern Gaza, where 1.4 million people have sought shelter.

• Amna Nawaz:

  That comes as hostage and cease-fire talks between Israel and Hamas again appear to be at an impasse tonight, as senior leaders meet in Cairo.

  Meanwhile, some Gazans returned to another Southern Gaza City, the scene of brutal fighting and destruction.

  Nick Schifrin begins our coverage.

• Nick Schifrin:

  They returned by the thousands, Gazans hoping to find their homes. But Khan Yunis is unrecognizable. It is destroyed, full of debris, and its former residents devastated.

  Houses are flattened like pancakes. Apartment blocks are gutted into carcasses. This was once home to half-a-million people. Today, it has been left to the scavengers, like Hanan. She tries to salvage anything from the ruins of her house. There is no construction crew, only a stray cat, who, like her, has lost everyone and everything.

• Hanan, Khan Yunis, Gaza Strip Resident (through interpreter):

  No words can describe my pain. Our memories, our dreams, our childhood, and our family all are gone. I didn't find anything to take out from the rubble. We didn't take anything when we fled.

• Nick Schifrin:

  Around every turn, there are more ruined roads, more details of deprivation. Sitting in the shadow of his former home and his former life, Ismael told us today he'd lived here for four decades.

• Ismael, Khan Yunis, Gaza Strip Resident (through interpreter):

  My feelings? My life is ruined. My life is destroyed and ruined. Everything from the past 40 years is gone. What can we say? Only God is sufficient.

• Nick Schifrin:

  But Khan Yunis is also the home to Hamas leaders, and Hamas videos show gunmen fighting Israeli troops from the ruins of homes.

  This weekend, Khan Yunis' Israeli troops recovered the body of Elad Katzir, kidnapped on October 7. And, just today, an Israeli strike destroyed a Hamas rocket that misfired.

  Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said the withdrawal from Khan Yunis followed the dismantling of Hamas' military units.

• Yoav Gallant, Israeli Defense Minister (through interpreter):

  Our forces are going to prepare for their follow-up missions. We will see such missions in the Rafah area.

• Nick Schifrin:

  Rafah is home to some 1.4 million displaced Gazans. And Israel has told U.S. officials it's preparing tents to move Gazans north from Rafah to Al-Mawasi and areas north of Khan Yunis.

  The U.S. officials say Israel has not yet presented a full evacuation plan, even though, today, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said a Rafah operation was on the calendar.

• Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Prime Minister (through interpreter):

  Victory requires entry into Rafah and the elimination of the terrorist battalions there. It will happen. There is a date.

• Nick Schifrin:

  Today, State Department spokesman Matt Miller reiterated that the U.S. opposes a major ground invasion into Rafah, regardless of Israeli evacuation plans.

• Matthew Miller, State Department Spokesman:

  I think it would, number one, harm all the more than 1.4 million Palestinians. It would hinder the delivery of humanitarian assistance. So we have made clear that we don't want to see that full-scale invasion in any event.

• Nick Schifrin:

  In the last few days, Israel has opened additional crossings. And, today, more than 415 trucks entered Gaza, the largest number since the war began.

  But the U.N. and U.S. are pushing for the number to increase to prewar levels above 500.

• Matthew Miller:

  It is not just important that they take initial steps to facilitate the increase of humanitarian assistance, but that increased flow of humanitarian assistance be sustained over time.

• Nick Schifrin:

  Increased humanitarian assistance is one of Hamas' demands on hostage negotiations. Regional officials tell me that CIA Director Bill Burns, Qatar's prime minister, and Israeli and Egyptian spy chiefs have created a new proposal that's gone to Hamas in which Israel has softened its resistance to a Hamas request to let Gazans return to Northern Gaza, but not by enough to expect an imminent breakthrough.

  What U.S. officials do fear is imminent, an attack by Iran in response to an Israeli strike in Damascus that killed senior Iranian commanders. And, overnight, Israel launched a series of airstrikes into Southern Lebanon, killing Ali Ahmed Hussein, one of Hezbollah's most senior commanders.

  In Beirut today, Hezbollah supporters mourned his death. U.S. officials fear Hezbollah or Iran itself could attack Israeli assets in the region or in Israel, a warning repeated by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah today.

• Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah Leader (through interpreter):

  Be certain, be sure that the Iranian response to the targeting of the consulate in Damascus is definitely coming against Israel.

• Nick Schifrin:

  Today, Iran accused the U.S. of approving Israel's Damascus strike. U.S. officials say they assured Iran in private messages that they did not know ahead of time.

  The U.S. has also warned Iran it would be held responsible if Iran or its proxies strike U.S. bases. Already, those bases are on high alert.

  For the "PBS NewsHour," I'm Nick Schifrin.