'We wait for death' Hope turns to despair as people told to evacuate

cross Gaza, ordinary Palestinians - men and women, old and young, ill and healthy - have described their fear, despair and confusion after Israel's return to violence in the past two days.

- Jason Burke, Malak A Tantesh

"Our hopes rose but now we are back to square one," Osama, a 40-year-old aid worker living in al-Mawasi, a coastal area designated as a "humanitarian zone" early in the conflict, which has since become known for severe overcrowding and poor sanitation.

Massive Israeli airstrikes shattered the two-month ceasefire on Tuesday, killing more than 400. A further 20 Palestinians died in yesterday's attacks, local health officials said.

In al-Mawasi, tented encampments that had stretched along the entire shoreline emptied when the ceasefire was agreed. Almost half a million people headed back to the north of Gaza to try to rebuild their ruined homes. Many are now returning, pitching their tents once again on the dunes.

"The worst thing is not the deprivation or the uncertainty. It is that the hopes we had with the ceasefire are gone. We thought our pains were over but it has just started again," said Osama.

Evacuation orders issued by the Israeli military on Tuesday, along with renewed airstrikes and tank shelling, are forcing thousands of Palestinians to return to makeshift camps where they sheltered for months last year.

Leaflets dropped on Beit Hanoun, a once-thriving town in northern Gaza, warned residents that "staying in the shelters or the current tent puts your lives and that of your family members in danger" and advised people to "evacuate immediately".