Hundreds of Gazans flooded the coastal highway heading north on Sunday after listening to that a number of folks managed to cross a closed checkpoint in the direction of Gaza Metropolis, regardless of Israel denying it was open.
An AFP journalist noticed moms holding their kids’s palms and households piling their baggage onto donkey carts as they made the journey.
They hoped to cross a army checkpoint on the Al-Rashid highway south of Gaza Metropolis, however the Israeli army informed AFP that reviews that the route was open have been “not true”.
On the opposite aspect, determined households waited for his or her family members within the rubble of the battered Palestinian capital.
Mahmoud Awdeh mentioned he was ready for his spouse, who has been within the southern metropolis of Khan Yunis because the conflict started on October 7.
“She informed me on the telephone that individuals are leaving the southern half and shifting north,” Awdeh mentioned.
“She informed me she is ready on the checkpoint till the army agrees to let her go north,” he mentioned, hoping she might cross safely.
Rumors additionally unfold throughout the day that the Israeli military was permitting ladies, kids and males over 50 to go north, a declare denied by the army.
Since Israel’s assault on Gaza following the October 7 Hamas assault, the military has laid siege to the realm, ordering Gazans to depart some areas and stopping them from crossing the slim strip.
In response to the United Nations, greater than 1.5 million Palestinians have sought refuge within the southern metropolis of Rafah.
A number of Gazans mentioned they have been attacked alongside the route and AFP footage confirmed folks taking cowl.
Palestinian official information company Wafa mentioned Israeli forces “bombarded displaced Palestinians as they tried to return to northern Gaza Strip through Al Rasheed Avenue.”
Wafa shared a video on X that AFP has not verified exhibiting folks fleeing an explosion.
Nour, a displaced Gazan, informed AFP: “After we arrived on the (Israeli) checkpoint, they let ladies go or stopped them, however they shot at males, so we needed to flip again, we did not need to die.”
AFP has approached the Israeli army for remark.
– ‘Too little and too late’ –
Elsewhere in Gaza, combating continued on Sunday after Iran launched a large drone and missile assault on Israel in a single day.
Iran’s first-ever direct assault on Israeli territory was in retaliation for a lethal assault on Tehran’s consulate within the Syrian capital.
The assault, which Iran blamed on Israel, killed seven Revolutionary Guards, together with two generals.
However on Sunday, Palestinians in Rafah informed AFP they have been unimpressed by Iran’s assault on Israel.
“The Iranian response got here so late, after 190 days of conflict,” Khaled Al Nems informed AFP. “You possibly can see our struggling.”
“Their response is just too little, too late,” he added.
Walid Al Kurdi, a displaced Palestinian dwelling in Rafah, mentioned that “Iran’s assault on Israel shouldn’t be actually our enterprise.”
“All we care about is getting again to our properties,” he mentioned.
“We’re ready for the subsequent 48 hours to see if (Israel) responds to Iran, or in the event that they need to play with us and divert consideration from Rafah.”
Israel has mentioned it plans to ship floor troops to Rafah to root out the remaining Hamas militants there.
