Israel’s onslaught on Gaza City forces thousands to flee with nowhere to go
Israeli tanks backed by warplanes and quadcopters are pushing deeper into Gaza City, destroying entire neighborhoods and leaving people with nowhere to go. The escalating assault comes amid a widening famine, with Palestinians starving to death every day. Airstrikes continue to pound civilians in central and southern Gaza. It has been one of the deadliest periods for journalists since Israel’s assault began, with at least 11 journalists killed in two bombardments just two weeks apart.
Palestinians are describing the assault by the Israeli military to seize and ethnically cleanse Gaza City—Gaza’s largest city, where up to a million people are currently seeking shelter—as the end game.
On Tuesday, residents in al-Saftawi neighborhood, just north of Sheikh Radwan in Gaza City, were forced to flee in the thousands as Israel’s ground assault bore down, with tanks and warplanes leveling entire blocks.
“For about a week now, it’s been constant bombing, shelling, and destruction,” Ramy, a resident being displaced from al-Saftawi, told Drop Site on Tuesday. “Today we were shocked when the army raided our area and bombed it. We were terrified, really terrified. A quadcopter came and they told us: ‘You have six hours to evacuate.’”
As he spoke, people scrambled to pile thin mattresses and scant belongings onto the few cars, motorized rickshaws, and donkey carts in the area. Most streamed out on foot, carrying nothing more than plastic bags. Over 90% of Gaza’s population has been displaced since the beginning of the war, most of them multiple times.
“We’re leaving, but we don’t know where to go. We want to leave, but to where? There is no safe place in Gaza. Even going south is difficult, and circumstances are hard. To go from the north to the south—you have no money, no transportation. It’s extremely difficult, disastrous. There is no healthcare, no food, no aid, no tents, no anything,” Ramy said. “This is eternal displacement. Not just forced—eternal. What we’re seeing is that it’s eternal. Our children are getting sick, our women are getting sick, people are dying from hunger, and in the end we’re being displaced.” [Continue reading…]