Displaced Palestinians flee Gaza City by foot and vehicles, carrying their belongings along the coastal al-Rashid Road toward southern Gaza, on Thursday.Abdel Kareem Hana/The Associated Press
As Israel’s full-scale offensive to capture Gaza City continued, a temporary corridor opened for civilians to flee the beleaguered city and head south.
“Urgent! Important announcement to the residents of Gaza City and its neighbourhoods” said Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee in a social media post, announcing the opening of Salah al-Din Road for 48 hours until Friday at 12 p.m. local time.
The message was not limited to social media. Israeli military drones dropped maps and leaflets over several neighbourhoods of Gaza City instructing civilians to use the new road instead of the coastal al-Rashid Road.
The short window to use Salah al-Din Road created confusion and pressure among families, who had to make a life or death decision in very little time: Which road was less risky, al-Rashid or Salah al-Din?
Residents judged that Salah al-Din was more risky, and the road remained empty.
The development came amid intense airstrikes and artillery fire. Tanks are continuing to advance into the central and western areas of Gaza City to capture the Gaza Strip’s last remaining major urban centre, where about 700,000 people have been living.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the aim of the offensive is to “defeat Hamas” and bring back the remaining 20 living hostages, and the bodies of up to 30 dead hostages, that the militant group has been holding. Israel says about 3,000 Hamas fighters are making a last stand in the city.
Salah al-Din Road is one of the main thoroughfares in the Gaza Strip, stretching 45 kilometres from the Erez crossing in the north to the Rafah crossing in the south. It cuts through central areas of the Gaza Strip.
Large parts have been heavily damaged by repeated bombings in recent weeks, leaving holes and destroyed sections. It also passes through the Netzarim Corridor, which was once an Israeli settlement before Israelis dismantled it in 2005, making it sensitive from a military point of view.
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According to residents, there are no aid points on the road and no medical stations, and there were no guarantees that strikes would stop during the evacuation.
Until the announcement, evacuation was possible only through al-Rashid, a narrow coastal road that connects northern Gaza to the south along the sea. As more and more people have been escaping Gaza City – 350,000 so far, according to Israel Defense Forces and Hamas figures – al-Rashid has become extremely crowded, with thousands of women, men and children.
Those who took al-Rashid Road describe hours of walking under the sun, a lack of water and food and no medical help.
Transportation costs have reached up to $3,000 for a hired car and the price of tents is now more than $2,000. Some families carry elderly people and the sick on simple carts, while others carry children through the dust and heat.
Despite all this, most people appeared to prefer the crowded coastal road to the uncertainty of Salah al-Din. For them, limited safety in numbers is more important.
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Ashraf al Mabhouh, a 40-year-old resident of Gaza City, said he and his family judged that al-Rashid Road was less risky.
“There were many people with us, and we preferred to wait in the traffic and walk on the road we know until we reach safely, instead of risking our lives on a new road with no guarantees,” he said.
According to the UN Human Rights Office at least 2,256 Palestinians seeking assistance such as food or medicine have been killed along militarized convoy supply routes and sites between the end of May and Sept 9., and that most of the casualties were due to live fire. The UN also stated that Israeli authorities have not taken effective steps to ensure the safety of those forced to move south.
International pressure is growing on Israel to alleviate suffering of civilians. More than 20 major aid organizations, including Oxfam and Save the Children, have said in a joint statement that “the inhumanity of the situation in Gaza is unconscionable.”
Israeli tanks were seen in two Gaza City areas that are gateways to the city centre, residents said on Thursday, while internet and phone lines were cut off across the Gaza Strip, a sign that ground operations were likely to escalate imminently.
Reuters