‘ Nowhere is Safe’: Civilians Describe Dire Conditions Amid Gaza City Exodus
As Israeli forces stepped up their offensive in Gaza City on Saturday, civilians caught in the crossfire painted a grim picture of displacement, overcrowding, and relentless air strikes, warning that fleeing south has offered little safety.
The Israeli military announced that more than 250,000 residents had left Gaza’s largest city “for their own safety” since operations were intensified.
But Gaza’s civil defence agency reported far lower numbers, saying only about 68,000 people had managed to move south, many of whom struggled to find shelter.
“Even those who manage to flee south often find no place to stay,” said Mohammad Abu Salmiya, head of the Al-Shifa medical complex.
“The Al-Mawasi area is completely full and Deir al-Balah is also overcrowded. Many return to Gaza City after failing to secure basic services.”
For 35-year-old father of four, Bakri Diab, the decision to flee western Gaza City offered no relief.
“Bombing happens here too, the South isn’t safe either,” he said. “All the occupation has done is force people to crowd into places with no basic services and no safety.”
The United Nations has warned of famine in Gaza after months of deteriorating conditions.
In late August it estimated around one million people were living in and around Gaza City.
Despite mounting international calls to halt the offensive, Israel has pressed ahead, describing Gaza City as one of Hamas’s last strongholds.
On Saturday, Defence Minister Israel Katz said the army had destroyed another high-rise, the Burj al-Nur, calling it a “terror tower.”
Civil defence officials reported that at least 25 people had been killed in Israeli strikes since dawn.
Leaflets dropped over western districts urged residents to move south, warning that military operations would continue with “very intense force.”
But as displacement grows and shelters reach capacity, many families say they face an impossible choice: risk death in their homes or join the swelling tide of people heading south, where security and survival remain uncertain.
