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Gaza Civil Defence says 450,000 Palestinians have fled Gaza City
Gaza’s Civil Defence agency says 450,000 Palestinians have fled Gaza City since Israel began its offensive to seize the territory’s largest urban centre, which has a population of about one million.
“The number of citizens displaced from Gaza to the south has reached 450,000 people since the start of the military operation on Gaza City in August,” said Mohamed al-Mughayir, an official of the rescue force.
The Israeli military, which has called on residents to evacuate as it presses its ground assault, says it estimated “approximately 480,000” people had fled the city.
UNRWA says 90 percent of facilities in Gaza destroyed or damaged
Adnan Abu Hasna, an UNRWA spokesperson, has told Al Jazeera that 90 percent of the agency’s facilities in Gaza have been completely or partially destroyed after more than 300 Israeli attacks targeted its schools.
Abu Hasna also said that 6,000 trucks loaded with aid are waiting for permission to enter Gaza, warning that the humanitarian catastrophe is deepening and that “no family in Gaza can afford the cost of displacement again”.
“There are also no places to set up a single tent,” he warned, as thousands continue to flee intense bombardment in Gaza’s north.
Displaced Palestinians describe ordeal as they attempt to reach Gaza’s south
Al Jazeera spoke to displaced Palestinians on Salah al-Din Street, which appeared empty due to safety concerns despite Israeli claims it was open for forced evacuations from Gaza City, where Israeli forces are intensifying attacks.
Abdallah Natat said the army had blocked the road with cement, forcing people to take the coastal al-Rashid Street on foot. He said his family had left their belongings in a trailer and kept walking south, adding that he started his journey at 4am.
“I’m still on the street … we slept on the street tonight. The rockets and shelling have become a daily routine,” he told Al Jazeera.
His relative, Ahmed Natat, standing with his child, described a nine-hour journey. “Cars don’t pass – we have to walk,” he said. “This child started crying a lot because I couldn’t feed him or put him to sleep,” he said, adding that his family also spent the night on the street.
“The occupation army wants you to hate life. It doesn’t want you to live. Can’t the occupation army create safe areas for us to live in?” He added: “The situation is very difficult … We are all like this.”
