Grabbing blankets and their meagre belongings, thousands of Palestinians fled from the centre of the Gaza Strip to the south on Friday to escape what they said were relentless Israeli bombings, AFP reports.

Donkey carts creaked with their belongings as they passed through the streets. Families pushed babies in prams and led elderly relatives through the crowd, packing winter blankets for the road ahead.

“This is not a life: no water, no food, nothing,” said Walaa al-Medini, who had been injured in a strike on her home in Gaza City and uses a wheelchair.

“My daughter died in my lap, and I was rescued from under the rubble after three hours,” she said. “Our house, along with everything around us, was destroyed.” She said she had not slept properly for 40 nights.

“My message to the world is for them to look at us, to see us, to see how we are dying. Why aren’t they paying attention?”.