in bombed Gaza, thousands of Palestinians flee facing the threat of an Israeli ground offensive

A deadly countdown has begun. On Saturday October 14, the Israeli army recommended that the population of Gaza City “don’t delay” to evacuate homes and move towards the south of Palestinian territory, before launching a military ground offensive. Hamas rejected this appeal, which concerns approximately 1.1 million inhabitants, out of the 2.4 million in the Palestinian territory of only 362 square kilometers. With the roads already congested, thousands of residents have once again piled into buses, cars and donkey carts to flee to the South.

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After the bloody attack by Hamas in Israel on Saturday October 7, the Israeli army responded all week with intensive strikes on the Gaza Strip. The IDF rained about 6,000 bombs in a week. These 4,000 tons of explosives caused considerable damage. According to the UN, 5,540 homes have been destroyed and nearly 3,750 other homes are now so damaged that they are uninhabitable. More than 2,200 people, mostly civilians, including more than 720 children, died, according to local authorities.

In an open letter addressed to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Hamas leader Ismaïl Haniyeh on Saturday accused Israel of committing “war crimes” in the Gaza Strip. Calls are increasing across the world to avoid a “humanitarian disaster”. The UN Secretary-General described a “health system on the verge of collapse” and “overflowing morgues”.

The Gaza Strip had already been the target of an Israeli land, air and sea blockade since Hamas took power there in 2007. But in retaliation for the Hamas attack, Gazans are now subject to a complete siege, deprived of water, electricity or food supplies by the Jewish state. Egypt controls its only opening to the world, the Rafah crossing point, in the south of the enclave, currently closed.