GAZA: As Israeli troops push further into dense Gaza townships under an intensifying bombardment, besieged Palestinian civilians wake each morning to pull bodies from the rubble of air strikes and begin their daily search for food and clean water.

In the northern section of the enclave, cut off from the south by Israel’s ground offensive and with no access routes for supplies, air strikes caused devastation in refugee camps, targeted ambulances and hit schools in recent days.

“Imagine you are in a prison and the prison guards are taking aim at one prisoner after another from a high tower, killing them one by one,” said Ismail, 43, an accountant in Gaza City describing how he felt under the bombardment.

“My father almost had a heart attack last night when a missile strike shook the building. We felt it was us being hit,” said Ismail.

Several Gaza residents point to recent accounts of deaths on the main roads connecting south and north. “I want at least to send my family to the south and hope they can cross into Egypt through Rafah but I’m not sure I can. I am afraid their car might be shelled by Israeli tanks on the road,” said Abu Tamer in Jabalia refugee camp adjacent to Gaza City.

Published in Dawn, November 6th, 2023