'Must we stay and die or leave and still die?'

PALESTINIANS fled through smoke and rubble yesterday as Israel began its expected move into Gaza City, seizing positions on the outskirts after days of nonstop bombardment.

- By Adam Toms

An evacuation order was issued as the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) secured positions on the city’s outskirts after days of relentless artillery and air strikes. Residents described a night of unbroken bombardment, the roar of jets and the wail of ambulances filling the darkness.

“The house shakes with us all night long - the sound of explosions, artillery, warplanes, ambulances, and cries for help is killing us,” Gazan Ahmad al-Shanti told local media. “The sound is getting closer, but where would we go?”

“We are facing a bitter situation to die at home or leave and die somewhere else,” said Rabah Abu Elias, 67, a father of seven. “In the news, they speak about a possible truce. On the ground, we only hear explosions and see deaths. To leave Gaza City or not isn’t an easy decision.”

The fear was etched into scenes captured across the enclave. In Deir al-Balah, mothers and fathers clutching babies and children were photographed fleeing a blast that levelled a building. No casualties were reported. In Jabalia, in the north, residents sprinted from the wreckage of a fresh strike.

Hundreds of families from Zeitoun and Sabra, densely packed districts of Gaza City, home to more than a million people, were seen moving northwest, desperate to escape the advancing frontline.

An Israeli military spokesman confirmed that troops were already operating in Zeitoun and Jabalia, laying the ground for the next phase of the offensive.