The people of Gaza have continued to be uprooted during more than seven months of Israeli invasion and bombardment. Faced with having to pack up and flee once again, some people in Rafah are delaying leaving, at least for now.
More than 800,000 Palestinians have fled the southern city of Rafah and its surrounding areas over the past three weeks following Israel’s military offensive there, according to the United Nations. But many are holding out in what was once considered the safest place in Gaza, where more than a million people have sought refuge.
They are exhausted and hungry, and they know that their next escape will not be safe. Israel has continued to bomb Gaza, which was previously declared safe.
The Israeli army launched a military offensive in eastern Rafah this month, distributing leaflets ordering residents to evacuate, and advancing deeper into the city. The UN’s highest court appears to have ordered Israel to stop its attacks, but Israel has so far signaled that it will continue the attacks.
Some people in western Lafaa are waiting to see what will happen before heading out. Others even ran away and returned, unable to find safety or the necessities of life elsewhere.
“The meanest word I don’t want to say or hear is ‘displacement,’” Randa Nasser Samud, 30, a maths teacher from northern Gaza, said Thursday as Israeli troops advanced into the city center. . “Evacuation means loss of value in life, so much pain and suffering.”
Samoud, along with her dentist husband and three children, have already lost their home four times. They are currently living in tents near the UN warehouse, and although an evacuation order has not yet been issued, about three-quarters of the surrounding residents have already fled.
On Thursday, Mr Samud was walking with one of his young sons when he saw trucks on the streets loaded with families’ belongings preparing to flee.
“The topic of evacuation is not an easy one to talk about or make decisions about,” she said. “I’m always talking to my husband about plans if we need to, but it’s still hard to make decisions.”
Her father suggested that she move to a school building in one of the cities from which many people had fled seeking refuge. But Samoud says turning schools into shelters is not a good option because of the lack of hygiene and trash piling up everywhere. She worries that her children will get sick.
Each time there is a move, Gazans have to start anew, because they often cannot afford much. Shipping costs can be hundreds of dollars.
“The most terrifying thought in my mind is the moment I have to get out of my tent and leave everything I’ve collected or bought behind me,” she said, pointing to clothes, dishes and food in the tent.
Ahlam Saeed Abu Riyala, 40, said concerns about access to water had kept him and his family of eight in western Rafah after being displaced four times.
For months they have been living in a tent just steps from the Egyptian border. Close enough to talk to the Egyptian soldiers on the other side. As Abu Riyala stood outside his tent chatting with his neighbors, a nearby water truck pumped clean drinking water to the refugees in the camp.
“We are now in two minds. I told her we had to evacuate Rafa before it was too late, but her husband said ‘no,’” she said. “But we can’t leave for many reasons, and water comes first.”
The sounds of Israel’s air and ground invasion make them nervous. They can hear tanks and sometimes Israeli armed drones playing “security” messages in Arabic or barking dogs, she said.
Even if they decide to leave, the cost of such a trip may be prohibitive.
“I’m exhausted mentally, physically, financially, and I’m sick of the word ‘evacuation,’” she said. “I hate my life and all this pain.”
