Palestinians who fled the Israeli ground offensive against the Jabalia Refugee Camp in northern Gaza gave harrowing descriptions of the situation.
One man told BBC he saw streets littered with bodies after Israeli forces ordered him to leave a shelter. A woman said that some people left so quickly that they forgot their children.
The UN agency for Palestinian Refugees called for a temporary ceasefire to allow safe passage to families who still wish to flee. Meanwhile, two local hospitals warned they were running low on supplies.
The Israeli military has said that its troops are continuing operations against Hamas militants while allowing the safe evacuation of civilians.
Since the military announced on 6 October that it would launch a third offensive against Hamas fighters regrouped in the Jabalia region, tens and thousands of people have been displaced.
The announcement came as US Secretary Of State Antony Blinken was on his way to Israel to try and revive the diplomatic process that had been stalled for a Gaza ceasefire deal and the release of hostages in the wake of the killing of Hamas leader Yahya sinwar by Israeli troops last week.
After meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu he told journalists that he “wanted to make sure that this was a moment that we could move forward”.
Mr Blinken emphasized that Israel must take additional measures to increase and maintain the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza.
BBC Arabic’s Gaza Today program interviewed several displaced persons who had recently fled Jabalia Camp and sought refuge in Rimal neighbourhood, Gaza City.
Saleh, a man named Saleh, said that he “had endured a 16-day siege” while sheltering at Abu Hussein Boys Primary School with his family.
Medics and rescuers said that more than 20 people died in an Israeli airstrike there last week. The Israeli military announced on Tuesday that 18 Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad militants were among the dead.
“The Israeli forces were advancing on us and the shelling intensified every day. Saleh said, “We heard bombings close by today… We feared our lives.”
“We received messages from [Israeli] quadcopters asking us to evacuate. So we began to move, under the watchful eye of Israeli soldiers who demanded that we go either to the south or west side of Gaza… I had my grandmother in tow, she was unable move, like so many others.
Mohammed al-Danani said that he was also at the school and had “witnessed bodies of martyrs in the streets” following the evacuation order.
Engy Abdel Aal told how she was in the Abu Rashid Pond when quadcopters broadcasted orders to move people towards Beit Lahia just north of the camp.
“The situation was extremely difficult, and no one knew where to turn. She said it was tragic and catastrophic. “Some people fled without their children and left them in the school, while they fled with others.”
The Israeli military announced Tuesday that its troops were “continuing the combat in the Jabalia region, while enabling a safe evacuation of civilians from combat zone”.
“As a consequence, thousands of civilians have been evacuated.” In a post on X, it stated that “Dozens of terrorists have been arrested among civilians.” The post included a video of crowds walking along damaged streets.
The military said that troops “eliminated ten terrorists who posed a danger and operated adjacent to them”, in a single attack, without providing any details.
The Palestinian Red Crescent posted a video showing an ambulance transporting five bodies, including children, who were killed by shelling on Monday in Jabalia.
A second graphic video, filmed the same day, showed paramedic Nevin Al-Dawasah attempting to help men and women who were dead or wounded at a tent camp near Jabalia Preparatory School For Boys.
Ms Dawasah, who fled the area on Tuesday and told AFP that people were complying with a evacuation order when “suddenly” there was shelling.
She said, “We had wounded and martyrs, and there was no safe way for ambulances to come.”
The Israeli military has yet to comment on the reports.
Philippe Lazzarini said that the UN agency for Palestinian Refugees (Unrwa) staff in northern Gaza reported that they were unable to find food, water, or medical care.
“The smell is everywhere, as bodies are lying on the road or under the rubble,” wrote he on X. “People are waiting to die.” They feel abandoned, hopeless and lonely.
Mr Lazzarini demanded “an immediate truce even if it is only for a few hours” to allow families to leave the area to reach safer places.
A UN spokesperson said that Israeli authorities continue to deny requests by its Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs to help rescue civilians trapped beneath the rubble, and to deliver desperately-needed supplies to hospitals.
The director of an Indonesian hospital near Jabalia – one of the few remaining hospitals – told BBC Arabic’s Gaza Today program that Israeli troops were stationed at its gates, and that gunfire was heard in the area.
“This has created a climate of fear and confusion for patients and medical personnel,” Dr Marwan Al-Sultan stated. “We also face a critical shortage in fuel, medical supplies and personnel, food and water.”
“Additionally the hospital is forced to rely on alternate energy sources which only last eight to ten hours due to ongoing power outages.” During the remaining period, the medical staff is unable to operate the electric generators which puts patients in danger who need oxygen.
Dr Sultan denied that there was a fire on Monday at the hospital, stating that it had actually been a blaze in an adjacent school, close to several generators.
The Israeli military said that it will ensure that hospitals remain open during the offensive.
It also stated that more than 230 lorries containing food, water, medical equipment and shelters were transferred to northern Gaza through the Erez West crossing in the last week. This follows a two-week period during which the UN claimed there had been no deliveries.
Israel launched a campaign against Hamas as a response to the group’s unprecedented attack in southern Israel on 7th October 2023. In that attack, approximately 1,200 people died and 251 were taken hostage.
According to the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry, more than 42,710 Palestinians have died in Gaza since that time.
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