Khuza'a (Arabic: خزاعة) is a Palestinian town in the Khan Yunis Governorate in the southern Gaza Strip.

[7] Bruno Stevens, a Western journalist who was among the first to get access to Gaza, reported that white phosphorus was used in the shelling of houses.

[8] Dozens of civilians were fired on and killed by the Israeli army during the ground offensive, according to human right groups, which some called "apparent violations of the laws of war".

[9][10] Several Israeli soldiers said they were told Hamas had threatened to kill civilians who left their homes but this was "strongly denied" by more than a dozen residents of the town, who said Israel did not let them leave the fighting.

However, more than a dozen of Khuza'a residents, along with many more interviewed by human rights groups, said Israeli soldiers deliberately targeted them and their neighbors while they tried to flee.