In Pictures

Gallery|Israel-Palestine conflict

As Israel bombs and food runs out, thousands flee to southern Gaza

More than 70 percent of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million have been displaced since the start of the war.

Palestinians flee to the southern Gaza Strip on Salah al-Din Street in Bureij, Gaza Strip.
Palestinians use Salah al-Din Road to flee towards southern Gaza Strip.[Hatem Moussa/AP Photo]
Published On 9 Nov 2023

Τhousands of Palestinians on Wednesday streamed on foot out of the Gaza Strip’s north as Israel steps up its military offensive and food and water supplies are dwindling amid a crippling siege.

More than 70 percent of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million have already left their homes, but the number making their way south has quickened recently as Israeli troops battle Hamas fighters inside Gaza City and the humanitarian situation grows increasingly dire.

Residents carry their belongings as they evacuate Gaza City amid increased military operations in the Gaza Strip,
About 15,000 people fled northern Gaza on Tuesday - triple the number that left on Monday - according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). [Mohammed Saber/EPA-EFE]
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Palestinians walk in the al-Rimal neighbourhood, central Gaza City while fleeing to the southern Gaza Strip.
Hundreds of thousands have heeded Israeli orders in recent weeks to flee the north, even though Israel also routinely strikes what it says are targets in the south, often killing civilians. [Abed Khaled/ AP Photo]
Palestinians carry belongings as they walk in the southern Gaza Strip.
Residents seen using Gaza's main north-south highway during a daily four-hour window announced by Israel. [Mohammed Abed/AFP]
A man pushes an elderly woman on a wheelchair as residents evacuate Gaza City amid increased military operations in the Gaza Strip.
Those fleeing include children, older people and people with disabilities, and most walked with minimal belongings, according to the UN. [Mohammed Saber/EPA-EFE]
Residents walk past a damaged building as they evacuate Gaza City amid increased military operations in the Gaza Strip.
Some say they had to cross Israeli checkpoints, where they saw people being arrested, while others held their hands in the air and raised white flags while passing Israeli tanks. [Mohammed Saber/EPA-EFE]
Palestinians crowded together as they wait for food distribution in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip.
Palestinians crowd together as they wait for food distribution in Rafah, southern Gaza. Hundreds of trucks carrying aid have been allowed to enter Gaza from Egypt since October 21, but humanitarian workers say that is nowhere near enough. [Hatem Ali/AP Photo]
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A child carries a pot as Palestinians cook in a street in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.
'There is an ocean of needs in Gaza right now, and what’s been getting in is a drop in the ocean. We need fuel, we need water, we need food, and we need medical supplies,' Dominic Allen, of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) said, speaking from the occupied West Bank. [Mohammed Abed/AFP]
Palestinians who left their houses and live at the Nassr hospital, are trying to feed their children during food shortages as the Israeli attacks continue in Gaza City, Gaza.
Tens of thousands of Palestinians remain in the north, however, many sheltering at hospitals or UN schools. The north has been without running water for weeks, and the UN's aid office said the last functioning bakeries shut down on Tuesday for lack of fuel, water and flour. [Abed Zagout/Anadolu via Getty Images]
Palestinians who left their houses and live at the Nassr hospital, are trying to live under hard conditions during food shortages as the Israeli attacks continue in Gaza City, Gaza.
The situation is little better in the south, where hundreds of thousands of displaced people are packed into makeshift shelters. At one, 600 people must share a single toilet, according to the UN. [Abed Zagout/Anadolu via Getty Images]
Palestinians bake bread on a street in Rafah during the ongoing Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip on Wednesday.
Palestinians bake bread on a street in Rafah. s, says aid trucks are ready to roll into Gaza, but without a ceasefire they continue to be stuck. [Hatem Ali/AP Photo]
Palestinians cook in a street in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, on November 8, 2023, amid the ongoing battles between Israel and Hamas.
'Even if we have a humanitarian pause that allows more trucks to get in, the logistical operation is massive. We have no idea what we’re going to see when we get in there. It’s going to be unprecedented for everyone. We’re talking about 1.5 million people displaced,' Naumann said. [Mohammed Abed/AFP]
A Palestinian man pours cooking oil into a car in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, on November 8, 2023, amid the ongoing battles between Israel and the militant group Hamas.
A Palestinian man pours cooking oil into a car in Rafah. Israel says there will be no fuel delivered to Gaza and no ceasefire unless the captives seized by Hamas are freed. [Mohammed Abed/AFP]
This image provided by Maxar Technologies shows a close view of the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt, with humanitarian-associated trucks lined up at and near the border.
This image provided by Maxar Technologies shows a close view of the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt, with humanitarian-associated trucks lined up at and near the border on Tuesday. [Maxar Technologies via AP Photo]