Israel’s military has ordered hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to evacuate their homes or face death, as it launches a fresh ground offensive in the northern Gaza Strip. The latest mass evacuation order came on the first anniversary of the start of Israel’s brutal assault on Gaza following Hamas’s surprise attack on October 7. Over the weekend, at least 26 Palestinians were killed after Israeli forces attacked a mosque and a school sheltering displaced people in Deir al-Balah. Elsewhere, at least nine children were among 17 people killed when Israel’s military bombed the Jabaliya refugee camp. Many residents were unable or unwilling to leave their homes.

Um Ahmed Fadous: “I am staying here. Where else would I go? I want to die here. As long as they say that evacuation is forbidden, where will I go? We are staying. If they want us to die, so be it! … And I suffer from osteoarthritis. Where do I go?”