Jerusalem.- During the nine months of war, Amani Zanin’s relatives have fled from place to place, escaping the Israeli bombings that have destroyed many neighborhoods in northern Gaza.
But this week, when the Israeli military issued repeated calls for Palestinians to leave Gaza City, the Zanin family and many others decided not to leave.
“The roads are not safe,” said Ms. Zanin, whose family is staying at a school.
Exhausted by the constant threat of bombardment and surrounded by death and annihilation, families in the northern Gaza Strip who heeded earlier warnings to flee are now taking the risk of staying.
Leaflets dropped by the Israeli military in parts of Gaza City and posts on social media mention four “safe corridors” that Palestinians can use to reach central Gaza “quickly and without being inspected.”
In interviews, people in Gaza City, which before the war was the most populous city in the enclave, said they had decided to stay in their homes or in places where they had been sheltering, such as the homes of relatives, hospitals and schools.
They said they fear possible dangers from Israeli forces on evacuation routes and know there is no real security in the south.
Ms Zanin said the journey south had to be made on foot because the Israeli army does not allow vehicles on parts of the route.
Walking for hours in the summer heat might be too much for some of your older family members.
Although in some parts of the north, the Gazeños have had no other option but to leave.
Since last month, Israeli forces have been carrying out offensives in several parts of the north – where the ground invasion began last October – and have said they are returning to fight regrouped Hamas fighters and other Palestinian armed alliances.
#Gaza #ignore #Israeli #armys #calls #evacuation
