The Abu Marseh family is returning to Gaza City after fleeing on Friday following an order from Israel for all civilians to head south or face bombardment. The family expressed that they preferred to die in their home after an airstrike hit a nearby house where they were taking shelter. Local authorities reported that bombardments shook the southern part of densely populated Gaza, resulting in dozens of fatalities overnight. The Abu Marseh family was one of several families that spoke to Reuters, concluding that it was better for them to return to their home in northern Gaza.
Their car was crowded with more than ten family members at the outskirts of Khan Younis, the major city in southern Gaza. Their belongings were tied to the roof of the car, preparing for a perilous journey back north amidst the bombardment. A crowd of people was searching for survivors or bodies among the rubble of a building destroyed by an airstrike on Tuesday. Rescue workers carried an injured man covered in dust and blood stains near a crater caused by a bomb explosion and falling debris, while other paramedics rushed from the wreckage carrying a child wrapped in a blanket, desperately searching for a pulse.
"Death everywhere," stated Hatab Wahdan, who left his home in Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza and traveled to Khan Younis with his family. An Israeli airstrike hit a house near where he was staying, killing several people who, like him, fled from the north. Wahdan noted that Israeli strikes had previously destroyed his home during the conflicts in 2006 and 2014, adding, "They told us the south was safe, yet they bombed here." He continued, saying, "Death is here and there. Returning to Gaza is better for us," describing the situation in Khan Younis as hellish.
Residents there spoke of unprecedented destruction, with entire neighborhoods being leveled. However, many decided to stay, fearing they would have to cut off routes to Egypt, which would make them refugees for a second time. Shadi, a father of six who works as a civil servant in the Hamas-controlled administration in Gaza, stated, "True, we have no electricity, no water, no internet, but we will resist until death." Reuters reporters on the road out of Khan Younis observed dozens of vehicles crammed with people heading north. Raghda Abu Marseh was sitting in the back of the family car with several adults and had two small children in her lap. She said, "We are martyred while we are dignified. Whoever leaves their home loses their worth."
