The impossible choice for Gaza City families: "We fled from one death to another"

With exhaustion etched on their faces, Ibrahim al-Adham's family packs up what remains of their belongings for the 18th time since the Israeli bombardment of Gaza began in October 2023. The 40-year-old Palestinian waits for a small vehicle he has hired to take them to Al-Mawasi in the south, obeying the Israeli army's ultimatum to the town's approximately 800,000 residents. "Leave now," read the leaflets dropped from military aircraft since Tuesday, when the final evacuation was ordered from the enclave's first town, where several hundred thousand people eke out a living.

Al Adham carefully straps large bags, mattresses, blankets, and belongings to the roof of the vehicle to prevent them from falling off during the journey along bomb-strewn roads. It's the same route he took when he first moved from his home in Beit Lahia, in northern Gaza, to the south.

The man, as angry as he is saddened, raises his voice to his children and asks them to help him carry the load. The oldest is no more than eight years old. His wife, through tears, intervenes, asking him not to scold them because they are children, cannot carry heavy loads, and are very frightened when their father shouts.

"All of this is the result of desperation and sadness. One feels lost and unable to cope with what's coming," apologizes Al Adham, who was about to leave Gaza just before the war broke out to work as a teacher in a Gulf country.

Now, he has had to make the choice: flee through conflict zones, knowing that he won't have a suitable refuge in the south, or stay in a besieged city where a large-scale military operation could begin at any moment. "We're fleeing from one death to another, and the whole world has abandoned us ," says this teacher, who admits he has no choice and doesn't want to further expose his wife and children. Since October 2023, the Israeli offensive has already caused at least 64,000 deaths in the Gaza Strip.

I'm fleeing without a tent. The one I was using was unusable. And besides, I don't know if I'll find space in Al Mawasi to put it up.

Ibrahim Al Adham, resident of Gaza City

Al Adham has borrowed money for this new trip: transportation alone costs over 400 euros, and the cost of setting up a new tent will be around 1,000 euros, as they are rarely found in the Strip. “I'm actually fleeing without a tent. The one I was using was unusable. And besides, I don't know if I'll find space in Al Mawasi to put it up,” he explains.

Secure a piece of land

For several days, especially since Tuesday, when residents of Gaza City were ordered to leave immediately, there has been a shift toward the coastal areas of the city center and a slightly smaller movement of people toward the southern part of the Strip.

Mohammed Saad, 38, fled the Sheikh Radwan neighborhood of Gaza City to the south, but was forced to pack up his belongings and settle on the beach because there was simply nowhere else to go.

“Before coming south, I tried to secure a piece of land, but without success,” Saad explains. “We had no choice but to move before it was too late, so we'll accept living on the beach to save our lives,” he adds.

We had no choice but to move before it was too late, so we agreed to live on the beach in order to save our lives.

Mohammed Saad, resident of Gaza City

When the thought of living in a tent again drives him crazy, this man recalls that, before leaving Gaza, buildings very close to where he was sheltering were bombed. “God saved us once again, but we had no choice but to flee again,” he laments.

Khalil al-Astal, director of a local NGO, believes the attempt to push Gaza City residents toward Al-Mawasi is “a catastrophe among catastrophes and will have countless humanitarian, health, social, and educational repercussions.”

Al Mawasi is a narrow, 10-square-kilometer strip of land along the seashore, lacking any basic services, already crowded with approximately one million people, according to the UN, or 800,000, according to the authorities of the territory governed by the Islamist movement Hamas . Currently, the 2.1 million Palestinians in Gaza survive in 14% of the Strip, whose total area is about 365 square kilometers. Following the order to completely evacuate the capital and declare its area a military zone, 89% of Gaza will be off-limits to civilians, according to an estimate by this newspaper. “Al Mawasi is an agricultural area and also sand dunes, which are unsuitable for people to live there long-term,” insists Al Astal.

In the Daraj neighborhood of central Gaza City, Jabril Mohammed, his wife, and their five children are driving toward the Nuseirat camp in central Gaza, where they have rented a small room. They have packed their most valuable belongings into it. Mohammed explains that the bombing has intensified, that his children, aged between four and 17, are terrified and have nightmares about being buried under the rubble, and that he can no longer bear to see them like this.

“I returned to my apartment at the end of January 2025 during the ceasefire. I fixed it and never imagined I'd have to leave again,” he explains, referring to the truce that went into effect in January and which Israel unilaterally broke on March 18.

His 15-year-old daughter, Layan, interrupts her father and bursts into tears. “What torture awaits us now? I wanted to stay home, continue sleeping in my bed, have a room.” Mohammed tries to calm her, not hiding his grief. “We had no way out, darling. The choice was to risk dying or be displaced,” he tells her.

“The worst moment”

But not everyone is leaving . Abu Diya, his family, and his neighbors have decided to stay in the city. In fact, they have never left, even when, at the start of the Israeli bombing in October 2023, the Israeli army ordered the residents of Gaza City to evacuate. He says this decision has given him "more patience and resilience, despite the horrors of hunger and war."

“The idea that the south is safe is a proven lie. I can tell you from experience: the bombings are the same, and death is everywhere. In the north and the south,” says Abu Diya, explaining that he couldn't leave anyway because he doesn't have the money to buy a tent and relocate his entire family.

The bombings are the same and death is everywhere. In the north and in the south.

Abu Diya, a resident of Gaza City

"All my family and friends who moved south described unbearable hell, humiliation, and suffering. If we're going to sleep on the streets, it's better to sleep on the streets of Gaza City," he concludes.

Mohammed Abu Salmiya, director of Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, considers the situation in the area to be “tragic.” “This is the worst time since the beginning of this war. Our hospitals are full, the occupancy rate is 300%. We can't find beds for patients, and there is a severe shortage of medicines and medical supplies,” he explains.

According to local officials, there are approximately 600 patients at Al-Shifa Hospital; 160 at Al-Rantisi Hospital; 150 at Al-Quds Hospital; 160 at the Baptist Hospital; approximately 70 at another medical center in the city's Al-Rimal neighborhood; and 50 at Al-Sahaba Hospital. Of this total, 50 patients are in intensive care, 60 premature babies are in incubators, and 20 children require respiratory assistance. "These people cannot be transferred or settled anywhere in southern Gaza," Abu Salmiya warns.

Al Astal asserts that the displaced people currently in Al Mawasi are already hungry, thirsty, and suffering from illness due to the living conditions they endure. "What will it be like when more displaced people arrive?" he asks. Therefore, the official warns that Gaza City's hospitals and medical personnel must be protected so they can provide services to those who cannot or do not want to leave. Because if the army invades the city, "we will face tens of thousands of victims in the streets," he predicts.