Under threat of bombardment, Gazans continue to seek safe havens

By Nathan Morley

Thousands of people in Gaza continue to seek safe havens under threat of Israeli bombardment.

Following evacuation orders, Gazans vacated shelters in parts of the north and the south, moving so fast that some fled without any possessions.

It was not the first time many of them were displaced.

UNWRA says people in the Gaza Strip have become exhausted by ongoing displacement and unlivable conditions, and are trapped in increasingly small and overcrowded areas.

"There is no safe place in Gaza. Evacuation orders included a large part of the Strip, making the options to which the displaced may turn limited," UNRWA said on X.

The move began on Monday when thousands of Palestinians fled east of Khan Younis in panic after new bombings on the city in the south of the Gaza Strip carried out by the Israeli army, which had announced ‘an intensive operation against terrorist organizations.’

The health ministry in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip says 39,090 people have died since the start of the conflict in the besieged Palestinian enclave, mostly civilians.

On the Israeli side, 1,197 people died - mostly civilians - in the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas.

According to the Israeli army, 251 people were kidnapped on October 7. It is reported that 72 people are still being held in Gaza, and the bodies of 44 other kidnapped victims are in the hands of the Palestinian Islamist movement.

Pope Francis has been calling for a ceasefire in Gaza since October 27, 2023 - longer than almost any other world leader.