Displaced Palestinian families in Gaza’s south have fled what they said was intensifying Israeli fire in northern areas of Rafah to seek shelter elsewhere, describing a chaotic night as the sounds of fighting drew closer and prompted the difficult decision to evacuate. “Just carry your son and run, we don’t have anything with us,” said one man, Mohammad al-Hadad. Some who fled overnight were able to return Friday, throwing their belongings atop vehicles or wagons pulled by donkeys and setting off. “We do not know where we can go,” said a woman, Ghada Qudeh. “Since yesterday, we have not found food or drink.” She said her family fled after Israeli forces fired missiles at a house where they were sheltering Thursday.
Here’s the latest:
Quick Read
- Fleeing Under Fire: Displaced families in Rafah, Gaza, describe fleeing from increasing Israeli attacks, with chaos and uncertainty about their next shelter.
- Evacuation Decisions: Residents faced difficult choices, often leaving without essential belongings, unsure of where to go.
- Humanitarian Crisis: Many lack access to food and water, highlighting the severe conditions as the conflict continues.
- Military Activity: Israeli military operations in Rafah persist, with ongoing combat and displacement of civilians.
The Associated Press has the story:
‘Carry your son and run’: Gaza families describe fleeing Rafah under Israeli fire
Newslooks- RAFAH, Gaza Strip —(AP)
Displaced Palestinian families in Gaza’s south have fled what they said was intensifying Israeli fire in northern areas of Rafah to seek shelter elsewhere, describing a chaotic night as the sounds of fighting drew closer and prompted the difficult decision to evacuate.
“Just carry your son and run, we don’t have anything with us,” said one man, Mohammad al-Hadad. Some who fled overnight were able to return Friday, throwing their belongings atop vehicles or wagons pulled by donkeys and setting off.
“We do not know where we can go,” said a woman, Ghada Qudeh. “Since yesterday, we have not found food or drink.” She said her family fled after Israeli forces fired missiles at a house where they were sheltering Thursday.
The Israeli military said its forces were continuing to operate in Rafah but did not immediately comment on specific strikes. The military said one soldier had been killed during combat overnight in Rafah.
The people fleeing Rafah are some of the last holdouts in a city that was once filled with displaced Palestinians. However, Israel’s ground invasion since early May has driven nearly everyone who sought shelter there to leave. The United Nations estimates 1.3 million people have been displaced out of Rafah — more than half of Gaza’s entire population — and only 65,000 remain.
International criticism is growing over the nearly nine-month Israel-Hamas war as Palestinians face severe and widespread hunger. The war has largely cut off the flow of food, medicine and basic goods to Gaza, and people there are now totally dependent on aid. The top United Nations court has concluded there is a “plausible risk of genocide” in Gaza — a charge Israel strongly denies.
Israel launched the war after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, in which militants stormed into southern Israel, killed some 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and abducted about 250.
Since then, Israeli ground offensives and bombardments have killed more than 37,700 people in Gaza, according to the territory’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians in its count.
More Palestinians evacuate Rafah under Israeli fire as troops advance, residents say
RAFAH, Gaza Strip — More displaced Palestinians have fled parts of Rafah in southern Gaza after intensifying Israeli military operations came close to where they were sheltering. It was the latest evacuation in an area that has weathered an Israeli invasion since early May, forcing nearly all Palestinians there to leave.
On Friday, Palestinians who had tried to remain in the city’s north packed their belongings into vehicles or wagons pulled by donkeys and set off in the direction of Khan Younis. They said that they evacuated overnight under Israeli gunfire, and were returning to grab their belongings before fleeing the city for good.
“We went out under bullets and gunfire at night. Our children were dispersed. We do not know where they are. Where should we go?” asked Imad Asfour, a displaced Palestinian from east of Khan Younis.
Ghada Qudeh, a Palestinian who took shelter in Rafah after fleeing the southern city of Khan Younis, said Israeli forces had fired missiles at a house where she and her family were sheltering Thursday.
“We do not know where we can go,” she said “Since yesterday, we have not found food or drink. We only want a solution.”
Mohammad al-Hadad, another displaced Palestinian, wondered where to go. Palestinians say Israel’s declared safe zone, Muwasi, is a crowded tent camp with very limited access to bathrooms and hospitals.
“Just carry your son and run, we don’t have anything with us,” he said. “From al-Muwasi to Khan Younis to Rafah, where do we go?”
The initial Israeli operation into Rafah sent 1.3 million Palestinians fleeing, according to United Nations estimates. Israel says it needs to operate there to defeat Hamas’s remaining fighters in the area.
A new Israeli offensive in Gaza City intensifies, forcing Palestinians to flee
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Palestinians in northern Gaza said intense bombardments have forced many people to flee the Shijaiyah neighborhood of Gaza City on Friday, as the Israeli military confirmed it had launched a new offensive into areas that were heavily bombed and largely emptied early in the war.
Residents described fierce battles in Shijaiyah for a second day in row, driving people to seek safety in western parts of Gaza City.
“It’s like the first weeks of the invasion,” said one man, Mahmoud al-Masry, who left his home Thursday with his parents and four siblings.
Israel’s military said Friday troops had been active in the Shijaiyah area, both above and below ground, and warplanes bombed dozens of locations that it said were being used by militants, including United Nations-run schools and facilities.
A Hamas statement Friday reported intense close-quarters combat in Shijaiyah.
There was no immediate word from Gaza’s Health Ministry, which tracks casualties from the conflict.
The fighting comes after Israel issued new evacuation orders Thursday for Shijaiyah and other neighborhoods. In October, Israel had instructed residents to evacuate all of northern Gaza, including the territory’s largest city. Hundreds of thousands of people have remained in the north, even as Israeli troops have surrounded and largely isolated it.
Funeral held for 7 people killed by Israeli airstrikes overnight in southern Gaza, as families describe fleeing over the bodies of dead and wounded
KHAN YOUNIS, Gaza Strip — Hospital officials in Gaza said Friday they received the bodies of seven people a day earlier, who their relatives said were killed by Israeli airstrikes.
A funeral was held Friday after the bodies were taken to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis overnight, officials from the hospital said.
Family members at the funeral said Israeli strikes the seven people in an area between the southern cities of Rafah and Khan Younis. Witnesses to the strikes, also at the funeral, said they were in such a rush to flee that they had to walk over the bodies of dead and wounded.
The Israeli military said that forces operated in the Rafah area overnight, leading to the death of one soldier, but did not specify what the military activity entailed or confirm striking the area.
Israeli ground offensives and bombardments have killed more than 37,700 people in Gaza, according to the territory’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians in its count.
Israel launched the war in Gaza after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, in which militants stormed into southern Israel, killed some 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and abducted about 250.
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— Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Gaza at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
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