Thousands of Palestinians are streaming onto Gaza’s only highway, fleeing the combat zone in the north after Israel announced a window for safe passage and following Israeli strikes near hospitals. Amid an intensifying campaign of airstrikes and ground battles, the search for safety in Gaza has grown increasingly desperate. Tens of thousands have walked south, where they face the prospect of ongoing bombardment and dire conditions. Others have crowded into and around hospitals, sleeping in operating rooms and wards. Gaza’s largest city the focus of Israel’s campaign to crush Hamas following its deadly Oct. 7 surprise incursion.
