Nowhere to go in Gaza

Umm Mustafa, 50, is no stranger to the pain of leaving her home behind. Like many Gazans, the mother of eight finds herself sleeping restlessly in a UN shelter for the third time in eight years.

But this time the displacement is worse than ever. Her husband finds it hard to walk properly having suffered a heart attack shortly after the last Israeli attacks in 2012, and she herself has recently been diagnosed with cancer.

Yet as destruction returned to her hometown of Beit Lahia nine days ago, the family packed up once again. “With every war on Gaza, we are forced to leave [our homes],” she said wearily as she recalled her trip to Gaza City. “There was continuous bombing around our house and the Israelis threatened the residents in our area. We wanted at least to save our lives.” The Israeli armed forces stress that they have warned, rather than threatened, Gazans to vacate areas they intend to target.

They are now sleeping in a school run by UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees. The conditions are hardly suitable for the ill. Her spacious family home has been replaced by a 30 square-metre classroom she shares with 40 members of her extended family. They have brought with them a few blankets and pillows, but there is hardly space for them all to lie down.

And every hour, more arrive. Following the start of a ground invasion by Israeli forces on 17 July, thousands more Gazans have abandoned their homes.

Five days ago, UNRWA was sheltering around 22,000 people. That number has now nearly quadrupled to over 85,000 - far more than during the devastating three-week 2008 war dubbed “Cast Lead”. Thousands of others have moved to stay with friends or relatives. Whole areas in the east of Gaza City have all but emptied, with families moving into the centre of the city to avoid the shelling. Al-Shifa hospital, too, has become an unofficial shelter for the displaced.

Despite a call for an immediate ceasefire by the UN Security Council, the violence showed little signs of abating. Sunday 20 July was the most deadly day since the latest round of hostilities began on 8 July, with 13 Israeli soldiers and more than 100 Palestinians killed, mostly civilians. Over 500 Palestinians and 20 Israelis (18 of them soldiers) have died so far.