Long lines of men, women and children forced to leave Gaza City
Videos verified by Al Jazeera’s Sanad factchecking unit show Palestinians fleeing the Saftawi area, north of Gaza City, after repeated Israeli threats and attacks.
The area, which Israel has said it plans to forcibly seize, has been under intense Israeli bombardment.
The footage captures long lines of men, women, and children walking along dusty and ravaged streets, many carrying bags, blankets, and mattresses. Some push carts piled with belongings while others hold children by the hand as they move westward on foot.
Families appear exhausted and distressed as they abandon their homes with only what they can carry with them and almost no vehicles in sight.
Death toll in Israeli attack on market near Gaza City rises to five
A source at al-Ahli Arab Hospital has told Al Jazeera that two women were among those killed in the Israeli attack on the popular market east of Gaza City. Videos shared on social media and verified by Al Jazeera showed people rushing injured people from the site of the attack.
A civil defence spokesperson posted a video documenting the scene from inside al-Ahli Arab Hospital, stating that more than 50 wounded people arrived as a result of the shelling.
‘Gaza is being crushed before the eyes of the world’
Reham Mahdi Al Jarrah, communications coordinator with the Women’s Affairs Center, a Palestinian non-profit group, says Israel’s expanded assault on Gaza City has not stopped for a “single moment”.
“Whole neighbourhoods are being completely wiped out … Families have nothing left. They’ve lost their homes, their jobs, their money, their savings, their dreams,” she told Al Jazeera.
“Have you ever heard of that white light that people say they see before they die? Since the ground invasion into Gaza City, I see it every single night,” said Al Jarrah, adding that nights are dominated by the roar of artillery and drones.
“The ear-splitting sound of bombing is so terrifying that me and my colleagues are unable to sleep … I cannot find the exact word to describe how horrifying the sound of bombing is as they are moving deeper into the city as they are levelling houses.”
She urged the United Nations, the international community and all people of conscience to act immediately, before Gaza is “crushed before the eyes of the world”.
A woman walks near a house that was destroyed by Israel in Gaza City, August 26
