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Photos: Published by Haaretz
Destruction in the northern Gazan city of Beit Lahia, August.Credit: Omar Al-Qattaa, AFP

A man and child walk past the rubble of a collapsed building in the southern Gazan city of Khan Yunis, September.Credit: Bashar Taleb, AFP

Tents are crammed together as displaced Palestinians camp along the beach of Deir Al Balah, central Gaza Strip, Wednesday.Credit: Abdel Kareem Hana, AP

Israeli troops operating in Gaza amid the continuing war between Israel and Hamas.Credit: AFP via IDF Handout

Trump on the campaign trail, speaking at a rally in Pennsylvania, Wednesday.Credit: Michael M., AFP via Getty Images

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Despite the destruction, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians don't think complying with the IDF's evacuation order would improve their condition; 'There's nowhere to sleep and even if we find one, no one has the capacity to survive,' one resident of northern Gaza says

by Jack Khoury for Haaretz
Oct 10, 2024 2:52 pm IDT

Even though he is surrounded by destruction on all sides, that reaches right up to his house, Jabaliya resident Ibrahim, is insisting on remaining in his home in north Gaza.

Ibrahim is not the only resident of north Gaza unwilling to leave. The Israeli army's repeated calls to residents of north Gazan cities, including Jabaliya, Beit Lahia and Beit Hanoun, to evacuate are of no interest to them.

"Where would we go?" Ibrahim asked angrily. "Is there an area of the Strip that's safe or fit to live in? Many of us, including myself, prefer dying here and not evacuating. After all, we've been talking to other people who have left and they're living in makeshift tents. There are people actually on the street now and they have nowhere to go. Why leave? Because the army says to? We won't leave even if we die."

Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians share Ibrahim's view and aren't leaving northern Gaza, despite the large-scale destruction and the IDF's intensifying assaults. Residents who spoke to Haaretz said the scope of the shelling and devastation reminded them of the beginning of the war and the Israeli ground invasion.

The ground invasion began on October 27 last year, several weeks after Hamas' October 7 massacre on Israeli communities near the Gaza border that killed 1,200 people.

"Until two weeks ago, we had a bit of quiet. Now it's real obliteration without taking anything into account," Ahmed, a resident of Beit Lahia said. "They tell us to leave, but anyone who leaves may be running a risk. They could be shot or injured in a bombardment." Ahmed dismissed the IDF's call to leave.

"There's nowhere else to sleep or to pitch a tent, or even to find a tent. Even if you find one, no one can survive in the prevailing conditions," he said. "It's a fact that people aren't streaming out of the area, as happened at the beginning of the war, because from their standpoint, no place is safe anymore. It would be better to die near home and to take comfort in dying in the area where we've been living."

Medical personnel in Gaza reported Wednesday that the previous day's death toll had surpassed 70 – with most casualties coming from northern Gaza. According to the Hamas Information Ministry, over the past five days, at least 130 Palestinians have been killed in Jabaliya, and rescue teams weren't able to reach dozens of bodies that were strewn on the streets.

The ministry claimed that the international community was apathetic to the deaths and that the IDF had stepped up its pressure in locations where displaced residents and refugees were concentrated. More than 17,000 people recently left those areas as a result of pressure from the IDF, the ministry said. It accused the IDF of using indiscriminate weapon fire to get people to leave.

In northern Gaza, much like the rest of the coastal enclave, there are no longer expectations of a pause in the fighting or a cease-fire. Diplomatic sources said they expected the situation to worsen in the coming weeks, despite talk of efforts to restart indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas. A Palestinian official who spoke with Arab, European and American diplomats told Haaretz that the coming month was expected to be particularly difficult.

"Israel has been increasing the pressure in the Strip and in Lebanon, and the aim is to lead to capitulation or a separate agreement with Lebanon – leaving Hamas and what's left of the Strip isolated. That means increasing the pressure on the civilians, and we will again be seeing pictures and voices [from] northern Gaza like we did at the beginning of the war."

The expectation in Gaza is that the escalation will continue until the beginning of November, with its future course dependent on the results of the American presidential election, the source said. "If Kamala Harris is elected, we might see more pressure and moves to stop Netanyahu. If Trump wins, only God knows where we're going from here," he remarked.

In Cairo on Wednesday, talks began between Hamas and Fatah, the dominant party in the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, over plans for governance of Gaza after the war. The two sides agreed to establish a joint committee on the issue, at the suggestion of the Egyptians. It is to be made up of 10 to 15 professionals who are not associated with political factions.

They are to be appointed on orders from Palestinian Authority President, Mahmoud Abbas and will be tasked with administering border crossings, including the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt; humanitarian assistance; and health, education and social welfare services. However, the two sides aren't optimistic that the plan can be put into practice in the absence of Israel's consent and support from the international community.

Israel hasn't submitted its own plan as to how Gaza would be governed, but it has objected to any cooperation between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas. According to one senior Palestinian, despite the purported goodwill expressed by Hamas, it still isn't prepared to give up complete control over Gaza, particularly when it comes to security issues. That stance would scuttle any attempt to develop a joint plan for Gaza.