Mohammed Abu Rizq, displaced months ago, now prepares to flee Gaza City again as heavy Israeli airstrikes force residents south in search of safety.
Abu Rizq said the constant bombardment during the day and night has scared his five children, who live in a tent at a United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) school in the western section of Gaza City.
Yet he admitted there was no clear destination. "Leaving Gaza City, where we were born, is like the soul leaving the body," he said. "We will go to a new place where we do not know if there is shelter, food, or the basic conditions to survive."
The enclave's most populous hub, Gaza City, has been heavily bombarded for weeks. Public infrastructure, marketplaces, and residential areas have all suffered significant damage.
According to Israeli military spokesman Avichay Adraee, who has called on Gazans to evacuate on numerous occasions, over 250,000 Palestinians have already done so, calling the city a "dangerous combat zone."
Nonetheless, the cost of displacement is unbearable for many.
Thirty-eight-year-old father of three, Mohammed Omar, traveled for 10 hours to get to the Al-Masha'la area of Deir al-Balah, where he had to rent a 150 square meter barren land for $250 a month to pitch a tent.
The journey itself cost him an additional 500 dollars.
"There are no basic necessities of life here,"
he said.
"No water, no electricity, no food, and nothing to shield us from the scorching sun."
Local and international organizations are expressing more and more concern about the worsening humanitarian situation. The Gaza Civil Defense Authority has mentioned that many are still trapped for reasons including injury, sickness, or age, and are at imminent risk of losing their life.
"The displacement process is not accessible to everyone, and those left behind are exposed to grave danger,"
Mahmoud Basal, a spokesman for the authority, told Xinhua.
UNRWA has communicated its apprehension about the operational capacity at its facilities. It stated that thousands of Palestinians are compelled to leave Gaza City on foot, without fuel or transportation, and said that shelters within the city are full under conditions conducive to disease in the absence of food, sanitation, and water.
At the same time, the Israeli army has continued its bombardment, hitting and razing dozens of buildings in the past few days, including the flattening of a 16-story commercial-media building in western Gaza City on Monday.
The al-Ghifari Tower housed several offices and was considered a prominent building housing many media organizations in the city.
According to Gaza health authorities operated by Hamas, Israel's ceaseless attacks have killed at least 34 Palestinians in the last 24 hours, primarily in Gaza City. According to the officials, that raises the number of Israeli attacks-related fatalities since October 2023 to 64,905.
Some families decide to stay in spite of the dangers. Suhaila Ishtiwi, 55, is one of them; she is seeking refuge in western Gaza along with her family members and children.
"For us, displacement and leaving Gaza City is a journey of death," she told Xinhua while baking bread in a makeshift oven. "Where can we go? There are no shelters, we don't have a tent, and we cannot afford the costs of moving."
What response is the international community giving to the displacement crisis in Gaza?
Various international humanitarian organizations, including the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), the Palestine Red Crescent Society, and the International Rescue Committee (IRC), continue to provide temporary non-food items, temporary shelter, nutrition, and life-saving medical operations to those displaced, even when resources are incredibly limited.
Humanitarian agencies have begun increasing support projects that include shelter, hygiene, food security, and medical care despite access challenges due to ongoing hostilities and border control constraints.
Cash assistance programs have begun to cash assistance funds for displaced families to help them mitigate critical needs and begin re-establishing their lives in difficult contexts.