As Israel displaces thousands from the north of the enclave, concerns are growing about worsening conditions in the south.
Thousands of Palestinians are being displaced each day by Israel’s indiscriminate carpet bombing of Gaza City, which is killing dozens of civilians daily, with families fleeing south towards an uncertain fate in the repeatedly attacked and overcrowded al-Mawasi.
More than 6,000 people were forced to leave the besieged city on Saturday, according to the Palestinian Civil Defence, as the Israeli army continued its relentless bombardment of the area.
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Some 900,000 Palestinians are currently left in the city, but the number is decreasing rapidly.
Khalil Matar, a displaced Palestinian fleeing south, said: “We keep moving. There are sick people with us, and we don’t know where to go. There are no safe zones.”
Many of those who are leaving the north are heading on the forced evacuation threats of the Israeli army to al-Mawasi camp, where conditions have been described as beyond dire, crowded, and under-resourced even before the latest mass displacements.
Reports from al-Mawasi, which is often struck by Israeli strikes despite being a so-called “safe zone”, suggest that new arrivals are struggling to find space to pitch their tents.
‘Famine is devouring us too’
media’s Hind Khoudary, reporting from the al-Mawasi, said the scenes there were “very chaotic” as more and more families arrived, with their belongings placed by the side of the road.
“For almost a whole week, we’ve been trying to figure out a place to shelter in. I have a large family, including my children, my mother and my grandmother,” one displaced Palestinian man told Khoudary.
“Not only are missiles pouring down on our heads, but famine is devouring us too,” he said.
The man added that his family’s tent was not fit for purpose after two years of use, and that he was unsure where they would take shelter.
“Displacement is as painful as eviscerating one’s soul out of the body. We don’t know where to take refuge,” he said. “I’m taking my family into the unknown.”
Speaking from al-Mawasi, displaced journalist Ahmed al-Najjar said the camp was not safe.
“It’s called a safe zone, but we have been living here for months and we know for sure that it’s not safe,” he stressed.
“How can I call it safe when Israel killed and bombed my own sister within this ‘safe zone’?”
Al-Najjar also described being woken up by the “cries and horrific sounds of people being burned alive in a nearby tent”.
Given such dangers as well as the lack of space, some displaced Palestinians have told media that they will be returning to Gaza City from al-Mawasi, in an apparent trend of reverse displacement.
Faraj Ashour, a displaced Palestinian who lost his legs in an Israeli attack, is one of those considering the return journey.
“I went to al-Mawasi, but the costs were too high … and it was almost impossible to find a proper spot without paying extra,” Ashour said.
