Displaced Palestinians Say Israel Deceived Them by Shelling Areas it Deemed ‘Safe’
(AWP) - Palestinians displaced from their homes due to war in the Gaza Strip said that Israel had deceived them when it forced them to move to areas it claimed were ‘safe,’ then shelled those sites, or told them to relocate again under the threat of more strikes.
Earlier on Saturday, the Israeli army requested that the residents of Jabalya, al-Shojayia, al-Zaytoun and the Old City in Gaza leave their houses immediately.
“We request you to vacate your houses at once via the axes of Haifa, Hebron and Khalil al-Wazir, and to head to the shelter centers and schools in the neighborhoods of al-Daraj, al-Toffah and western Gaza,” said Avichay Adraee, a spokesman for the Israeli army, on X platform.
In an area where displaced people live in Khan Younes, southern Gaza Strip, Nabil Saq Allah, who was displaced from Gaza along with his family, said that nineteen people from his family had been targeted in a place the occupation had deemed ‘safe’.
“They left Gaza, and were hit in al-Qarara, Khan Younes, southern Gaza Strip. We say that this is deception, and misleading the world. There is no safe place in Gaza,” he added.
“We will never leave this land. We will remain here in Gaza, in Palestine. We will never leave it. This is where we were born, have lived, and will continue to live,” he stressed.
Another displaced Palestinian, Farid al-Raqab, said he did not feel there was a safe place, because the warplanes keep dropping leaflets, and then opening fire at the same sites mentioned in the leaflets.
“A large number of people displaced from the north and south and other areas have come under shelling, and have been killed in the very areas to which they were displaced. This is our experience with the occupation,” he noted.
Bakr al-Turkomani, from the Independent Commission for Human Rights, said the leaflet campaign might appear as if Israel were warning Palestinians to stay away from dangerous places, but that, “in fact, it is an actual policy of forced displacement to push them towards Gaza’s southern borders.”
“That way, Israel can remain on good terms with neighboring countries, and it will appear they did not force the citizens to relocate, but that they migrated voluntarily,” he added.