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Under the hot summer sun, tens of thousands of Palestinians fled Israeli bombardment and clashes with Hamas fighters in Rafah on Friday, clogging the roads with donkey carts, bicycles, pickup trucks and wheelchairs.
More than 150,000 people have already left Gaza’s southernmost city since they received warnings on Monday from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) of an impending military operation, with most relocating after airstrikes and fighting intensified later in the week.
Among those who escaped on Friday was Iyad Jarboa, an acting instructor and theater director, who left his home in eastern Rafah on Thursday with his family to seek safety in the town of Khan Younis, 6 miles away.
“We have been suffering since the beginning of the war, but these last nights were the hardest of all, with bombings of all kinds everywhere and none of us could sleep,” Jarbois, 45, said.
“I was worried that my children and my wife would be killed, but also that if we left it too late, we would never escape.”
His brother, sister-in-law and aunt were seriously injured during the conflict.
“We only have two wheelchairs, so I have to carry one of them on my back and it would be impossible to move at all if the situation worsens,” Jarbois said.
There was no panic, aid workers in Rafah said, just a huge number of people packing what they had in preparation for another move. Many have been displaced repeatedly as they fled successive Israeli military offensives in Gaza.
A million people sought shelter in Rafah after fleeing the fighting or having their homes destroyed, turning the small town of 300,000 into a sprawling, overcrowded camp.
An aid official said: “There are a lot of people on the move today and the bombardment continues… Everything is lined up, with people lining up after themselves.”
Dr Marwan al-Hams, head of the Rafah Emergency Committee, said on Friday morning that nine people had been killed and 10 wounded in the previous 24 hours.
Also on the road was Adeeb al-Saka, 37, a lecturer at Gaza University, with his four children. Her destination was al-Qarara, north of Khan Younis, an area that is within the recently expanded “humanitarian zone” designated by the IDF.
“Our neighborhood is under heavy bombardment. I go to Al-Qarara because there is no room anywhere else. I have heard that there is no water, electricity and internet where we are going, but we have no other options there,” Saka said.
In recent weeks, more aid has reached Gaza through the Rafah border crossing with Egypt and the Kerem Shalom crossing, as Israel has eased acute food and water shortages, with prices of some staples falling to pre-war levels.
Since the IDF took over the Rafah border crossing, which remains closed, prices have soared. Sugar costs between seven and 10 times more. Although the Kerem Shalom border crossing is open, it is too dangerous for aid agencies to collect supplies passing through Israel.
Aid agencies say they have fuel reserves for 48 hours, but after that they will have to shut down vital water pumps and bakeries that feed hundreds of thousands of people. Hospitals will be forced to turn off lights, limit the use of incubators and close operating rooms. The cost of hiring a vehicle to move a family, bags and essentials several miles can reach up to $400 (£320) and is therefore beyond most people’s means.
Jabr al-Basiuni, 53, has been displaced five times since he left Beit Hanoun in the north in October with his seven children.
“Rafah no longer has many necessities to live on… Today we will flee again to Deir al-Balah. We were not able to take everything because of the high cost of transportation and the lack of fuel,” he said.
Israeli officials say Rafah is the last stronghold of the Hamas fighters that must be eliminated or dispersed before the Israeli offensive in Gaza can be considered a success.
More than 34,500 people, mostly women and children, died during the Israeli offensive, which caused widespread destruction of homes, hospitals, mosques and schools in several Gaza cities. The UN says that northern Gaza is now in a state of “total hunger”.
The war began in October when Hamas attacked southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping about 250 others. Israel says rebels still holding about 100 hostages and the bodies of more than 30 others believed to be dead.
The IDF said those displaced from Rafah will receive adequate food, water, shelter and sanitation in the humanitarian zone. Aid agencies describe acute overcrowding, limited and dirty water, almost no sanitation and inadequate food supplies.
Some families who recently moved from Rafah have set up tent camps on the Mediterranean coast near the central city of Deir al-Balah. Upon arrival, dozens rushed to collect water near a building for Unrwa, the United Nations agency for Palestine refugees. He waited longer in the heat.
“The situation is difficult and it keeps getting worse,” Vafaa Masarei said as she left a few belongings: boxes, bags of clothes, pots, mattresses, a plastic jug. Her two children sought protection from the sun under a table and blankets.
Esraa al-Namla, 30, left her home in East Rafah with her four children. She uses a wheelchair after having both her legs amputated in an airstrike earlier in the war that also seriously injured her husband and two sons.
“Now I don’t know where I will go with my husband and my children… There is no safe place to go. I feel helpless now… I can’t do anything for my husband or my children,” Namla said. “None of our relatives help us or take care of us. How are we going to live in a tent when I can’t go to the toilet or even sit on the floor? All the evacuation sites are very sandy, with no roads, so how is my wheelchair going to work?’
Jarbois, the theater director, said he told his young children the family was going camping.
“They feel happy because they are near the sea… As for us adults, we are all just waiting for our fate.”
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