Laura Aparicio

Today marked the 70th anniversary of the Khan Yunis Massacre. On November 3, 1956, during the Tripartite Aggression against Egypt, Israeli forces killed hundreds of Palestinians in Khan Yunis. According to figures documented by UNRWA, 275 Palestinians were killed, including 140 refugees and 135 local residents. Just nine days later, another 111 people were reported killed in Rafah, bringing the combined reported death toll to 386. Palestinian survivors described horrifying acts of brutality: Israeli soldiers raiding homes, dragging men into the streets, separating fathers and sons from their families, lining up unarmed civilians against walls, and opening fire with machine guns. Witnesses also described bodies lying in the streets and grieving families unable to bury their loved ones because of military curfews. Palestinian historian Salman Abu Sitta recounts how Israeli soldiers rounded up men from Khan Yunis, including teachers, shopkeepers, farmers, and other ordinary civilians, and marched them toward the historic Barquq Castle. According to his account, soldiers lined the men against a wall near a school, ordered them to jump across a ditch, and opened fire with machine guns, turning the ditch into a grave. Palestinian historian Ihsan Khalil al-Agha documented a higher death toll, estimating approximately 520 victims of executions and other killings during the broader assault and occupation. Survivor testimonies also describe women being left to collect the bodies of their husbands, sons, and brothers and bury them in mass graves. The attached image shows some of the victims.