Gaza City: Thousands of Palestinians fled Gaza City on Wednesday as Israel escalated its ground assault, pounding the densely populated area with air and artillery strikes. Dozens were reported killed, deepening the humanitarian crisis in a territory already ravaged by nearly two years of war and a UN-declared famine.
AFP images showed families streaming southward on foot, in cars, and even on donkey carts, carrying what few possessions they could salvage. Gaza’s civil defence agency said at least 64 people were killed in the latest strikes, including 41 in Gaza City, though the figures could not be independently verified.
The Israeli military said it struck more than 150 targets and temporarily opened a corridor along Salah al-Din Street for evacuations, warning it would remain open for just 48 hours.
For many residents, however, leaving is impossible. “I won’t leave Gaza. Where would I go? Death is cheaper and more merciful,” said Umm Ahmed Yunes, 44, sheltering in her damaged home. Others, like Fatima Lubbad, who fled with her children, described nights sleeping on the ground by the sea: “I wish we would all die together.”
The offensive drew swift international condemnation. Qatar, China, and Pope Leo XIV urged Israel to halt operations, calling them part of a “genocidal war.” Their statements came a day after a UN commission of inquiry concluded that “genocide is occurring in Gaza and is continuing to occur.” Israel rejected the findings as “distorted and false” and demanded the commission’s abolition.
Meanwhile, anger is rising in Israel. Families of hostages still held in Gaza protested outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s home, accusing the government of endangering their loved ones. Of the 251 people abducted in the Hamas-led October 2023 attack that killed 1,219 in Israel, 47 remain in captivity—25 of them confirmed dead.
The Gaza war has since killed at least 65,000 people, mostly civilians, according to the territory’s health ministry figures cited by the UN.
