When Palestinians in northern Gaza heeded warnings in phone calls, text messages and leaflets from the Israeli military advising them to head south, they thought they were fleeing to safety.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) issued the guidance on Friday, telling all civilians in northern Gaza to evacuate to areas south of Wadi Gaza “for their own safety and the safety of their families.” , while the IDF continues “to operate significantly in Gaza City and to make great efforts to avoid harming civilians.”
However, some Palestinians who followed evacuation warnings and fled their homes in search of safety suffered the same fate they were fleeing: Israeli airstrikes killed civilians outside the evacuation zone.
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The deaths highlight the reality that the Israeli military’s evacuation zones and early warnings have not ensured the safety of civilians in the densely populated Gaza Strip, where Palestinians have no safe place to escape Israeli bombs.
In the early hours of Friday, Aaed Al-Ajrami and his nephew, Raji, received a call from an Israeli military officer warning them to call everyone they knew and immediately head south, the nephew told CNN .
Despite following instructions and fleeing south of the evacuation zone, Aaed’s family was killed by an Israeli airstrike the next day.
An audio recording obtained by CNN reveals the details of the brief conversation – which included IDF instructions to flee south of the evacuation zone and no guidance on how to get there.
Raji said that once they realized who was calling, they recorded the conversation so they could share it with other family members.
“All of you go south. You and all your family members. Gather all your things with you and go there,” the officer said.
Aaed wanted to know which road would be safe and what time they should leave.
“It doesn’t matter which road,” the officer replied. “Do it as quickly as you can. There is no more time.”
Aaed heeded the warning. At sunrise on Friday, he headed south with his family and relatives to stay with friends in Deir Al Balah, a town about 13 kilometers south of Wadi Gaza and outside the evacuation zone.
The following day, an Israeli airstrike in the area destroyed parts of the building where Aaed’s family was taking refuge, killing him and 12 other members of his family, including seven children.
His nephew Raji, 32, was staying in another nearby building when he heard the explosion and feared the worst. He rushed to the scene after receiving a call that his uncle’s family members were among the victims.
“The destruction was enormous,” Raji said. “We started to dig up the people who were hit by the explosion, some of them were still alive… the smell of gunpowder was very strong, dust was everywhere.”
“All these people thought they were finally safe and nothing would happen in the area,” Raji said. “You can follow orders to avoid being exposed to danger, but danger will still reach you wherever you are.”
A CNN contacted the IDF for comment on the airstrike outside the evacuation zone, including Deir Al Balah.
While some 500,000 Palestinians have fled north from Gaza towards the south since Friday, many others are unable to make the journey south of the evacuation zone and are trapped in north Gaza.
Yara Alhayek, 22, told CNN that his family who lived in the north would have nowhere to seek refuge if they headed south. “We couldn’t go out because there’s no safe place to go… it’s too dangerous if we leave the house, it’s too dangerous if we stay at home, so we have no idea what to do.”
Israel defended the continued attack on Gaza for targeting Hamas headquarters and assets that are hidden inside civilian buildings, claiming that what may appear to be a civilian building is in fact “a legitimate military target.”
Independent UN experts condemned Israel’s “indiscriminate attacks on Palestinian civilians.”
Doctors Without Borders released an update on Sunday night saying the attacks also targeted hospitals and ambulances and denounced the “indiscriminate bombing campaign in which the majority of victims were civilians.”
Israel’s military airstrikes have killed more than 2,800 and injured 11,000 since October 7, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said on Monday, according to the official Palestinian press agency WAFA.
Israeli troops and military equipment have massed on the border with Gaza as Israel prepares to intensify its response to the October 7 terrorist attack carried out by the Islamic militant group Hamas.
Warplanes continued to attack Gaza over the weekend as civilians fled south following Israel’s instructions.
Several United Nations agencies have also warned that mass evacuation under such siege conditions will lead to disaster and that the most vulnerable Gazans, including the elderly and pregnant women, may not be able to relocate.
“The order to evacuate 1.1 million people from northern Gaza defies the rules of war and basic humanity,” wrote Martin Griffiths, head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, in a statement on Friday.
“Roads and houses were reduced to rubble. There is nowhere safe to go.”
Raji, who took in the injured children who survived the attack, says she needs to be strong to support them despite not feeling well internally.
“I feel injustice, they are innocent people, what did they do?”
Source: CNN Brasil
Bruce Belcher is a seasoned author with over 5 years of experience in world news. He writes for online news websites and provides in-depth analysis on the world stock market. Bruce is known for his insightful perspectives and commitment to keeping the public informed.
