Israel pounds Gaza City, killing 49 and displacing 6,000 in a single day
Israeli forces have ramped up attacks on Gaza City, systematically levelling buildings, including schools-turned-shelters run by the United Nations, and killing at least 49 people.
The toll from Gaza City took the number of Palestinians killed in Israeli attacks across the Strip on Saturday to 62.
“Even those who manage to flee south often find no place to stay, as the al-Mawasi area is completely full and Deir el-Balah is also overcrowded,” said Abu Salmiya, adding that many have returned to Gaza City after failing to find shelter or basic services.
The Israeli army claimed on X that more than 250,000 people had fled the enclave’s largest urban centre.
Reverse displacement
Reporting from the south, Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary witnessed a steady stream of families arriving from the north to the al-Mawasi camp, believing that they were going to find “water, hygiene – everything that Israeli forces advertised”.
Three of the Israeli-backed GHF aid distribution sites are located in the al-Mawasi area, as part of Israel’s strategy to lure Palestinians southwards. However, human rights groups and governments have harshly criticised the GHF after more than 850 people were shot in the vicinity of distribution sites, according to UN figures.
Faraj Ashour, a displaced Palestinian who lost his legs in an Israeli attack, told Al Jazeera that he would be sending his 13-year-old son “to his death” if he dispatched him to find food for the family.
Al-Mawasi was already crowded before Israel’s invasion of Gaza City, filled with Palestinians displaced from the eastern parts of Rafah and Khan Younis. But now, it is at breaking point, with new arrivals unable to find space to pitch their tents.
“I went to al-Mawasi, but the costs were too high… and it was almost impossible to find a proper spot without paying extra,” said Ashour. “We stayed two days. During that time, the tent next to us was bombed, even in what they call a safe zone.”
Having travelled from Gaza City, Ashour is now preparing with his family to move back, as part of an apparent trend of reverse displacement, where desperate people return to the north.
“There was no safety. It’s all lies. At first, I believed them, but I realised it was better to return to Gaza City. If they’re going to kill me, may as well be in Gaza City, rather than risk everything in al-Mawasi,” he said.
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said on Saturday that 86 percent of Gaza is either a militarised zone or subjected to displacement threats.
