Israel opens new temporary route out of Gaza City as death toll rises

Palestinian and U.N. officials say no place is safe, including in the southern area designated by Israel as a "humanitarian zone."

The Israeli military said it was opening an additional route for 48 hours that Palestinians could use to leave Gaza City as it stepped up efforts on Wednesday to empty the city of civilians and confront thousands of Hamas combatants.

Hundreds of thousands of people are sheltering in the city and many are reluctant to follow Israel’s orders to move south because of the dangers along the way, dire conditions, a lack of food in the southern area and fear of permanent displacement.

“Even if we want to leave Gaza City, is there any guarantee we would be able to come back? Will the war ever end? That’s why I prefer to die here, in Sabra, my neighborhood,” Ahmed, a schoolteacher, said by phone.

At least 50 people were killed by Israeli strikes and gunfire across the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, including 39 in Gaza City, local health authorities said.

They said the latest fatalities took the Palestinian death toll from the two-year conflict between Israel and Hamas past 65,000. Palestinian officials and rescue workers say the true figure is likely to be higher as many people’s remains are trapped under the rubble of destroyed buildings.

Gaza health authorities also reported a drone attack on a specialist children’s hospital, which did not cause casualties but forced young patients and their families outside.

Israel estimates about 400,000 people, or 40 per cent of those who were in Gaza City on August 10 – when it announced plans to take control – have already fled. The Gaza media office says 190,000 have headed south and 350,000 have moved to central and western areas of the city.

A day after Israel announced the launch of its ground offensive to seize control of Gaza’s main urban center, tanks had moved short distances towards the city’s central and western areas from three directions, but no major advance was reported.